Shadows of the Past
by opal star
Summary: After Miss Weasleys death, Harry had moved on and afraid for friends, he moved away and he thought he had moved on. Now, two years later, there is a girl on his door step with an awfully famillar face. Now Being Re-Written at last
1. In the beginning

Disclaimer: I don't own anything; all characters are J.K Rowling's, except a few of my own!  
  
Note: I decided to finally re-write it. There is some stuff that I might be adding in, I'm not sure yet, that I forgot to put in first time around. And I took out all those annoying A/N comments (I was young and childish). But if this story is new to you, I hope you enjoy!  
  
Prologue - Deatheaters Visit  
  
Two years previously:  
  
Harry was out of bed early today. His alarm clock on the small, bedside table was flashing half past nine in the morning - it was supposed to be his weekend off. The first holiday in weeks and the first morning in months where he'd woken up from a nightmare, jolting up, almost falling out of his bed.  
  
At the moment, he was looking out of the window, letting his eyes scan over the houses and shops in front of him. There was the noise of muffled traffic and the far off hum of the city before he closed his window quietly so he did wake the others.  
  
Ron's snoring came filtering through the walls a few seconds after the window was shut. Harry smiled. He was used to the constant sound having spent six years sleeping in the same dormitory as Ron at Hogwarts. But Hermione, who had the room furthest away from Ron's, still wasn't used to it. She didn't want to hurt his feelings so put a Muffling Charm around her room.  
  
Harry was sworn to secrecy not to tell Ron by her.  
  
He yawned absent-mindedly, stretched and grabbed a shirt, trousers and some socks on his way to the bathroom for a shower. Despite Ron and Hermione always yelling at him for moaning about work, he thought he might go in for a couple of hours today. There was nothing else to do. If he stayed, Hermione might drag him into doing some gardening in the afternoon.  
  
*  
  
After his shower he sorted out his eyes, he had to put a temporary charm on them to sort out his sight, and got changed. He was just doing paper work to day so he didn't bother with uniform. He pulled on his light brown trousers and did the buttons up on his blue shirt, apart from the top two. He chucked the shirt he had slept in the laundry basket and ran down stairs.  
  
He made himself some toast and switched the television on flicking around to see if there was anything else but children's programmes on. There were some advantages of living in the Muggle world - toasters and biro pens for one.  
  
Harry wrote Ron and Hermione a note like he always did while he ate his toast getting crumbs all over the page. He frowned and wiped the letter, which only got buttery stains all over the note. Harry was just about to write another when he noticed the time; he was supposed to be in half an hour ago.  
  
"Shit," he swore to himself. Then apparated leaving the pen in mid air before it dropped onto the wooden floor.  
  
*  
  
Harry arrived at the office before his superior arrived, only just though. He walked past his secretary who passed him his work, and some owls from the Ministry. She quietly informed him that someone was waiting in his office for him.  
  
Harry muttered darkly to himself as he opened his door. He couldn't see who was there; the papers were piled up so high they blocked his vision. He dumped the papers on his desk in the 'IN' box. Harry glanced at the 'OUT' box- it was a bit empty.  
  
He turned round and smiled at whoever was standing at the other side of the office.  
  
It was Ginny Weasley. Harry was used to popping in on her way back from work but she looked different. She never came in the mornings - Harry doubted if she was ever up on Saturday mornings all. Her face was pale and her arms were straight and rigid, and her hands were clutching each other tightly.  
  
"What's up Gin," he asked gently as he shut the door behind. Ginny looked like she was going was going to cry and she was blinking a lot. Harry passed her a coffee,  
  
"Here," he said offering it to her "Black. Two sugars. Just the way you like it. Have a seat."  
  
Ginny gave a feeble smile of thanks. She cupped the mug in her hands and sat down slowly. Harry sat on the chair next to hers. She wasn't saying anything just staring into space and sipping her coffee every so often. Harry knew something really bad had happened, maybe someone had died or was very ill or.  
  
"Harry," Ginny's little voice interrupted his train of thoughts, Harry looked into her frightened eyes, "They're after me,"  
  
Harry frowned, somewhere in the back of is mind he had figured it out but the rest hadn't.  
  
"Who are?" he asked softly. Ginny looked down at the bubbles in her coffee pop and after a minute she whispered in a barely audible voice,  
  
"Malfoy. the Deatheaters.Voldermort,"  
  
All the blood in his body froze; it was impossible. Ginny was living in the Muggle world in a flat in the middle of London. How did Malfoy know?  
  
Ginny seeing Harry's face continued, a little louder this time,  
  
"I was tidying up the flat and the buzzer went on the intercom thing," her breathing was shallow now but Harry knew she would feel better when she got it out,  
  
"I answered it and it was Draco's face on the screen, I was too shocked to hang up. He said 'We've come to pay you a little visit Weasley' and then I looked round and saw the other Deatheaters appear, I screamed and the last thing I heard was Malfoy laughing and then they grabbed me."  
  
She looked fraught and looked at Harry who smiled kindly, not knowing what else to do. There was nothing else he could do. If he old her what he really thought so far (You're buggered), it would have helped.  
  
"Go on," he prompted. Ginny took a deep breath to steady her self before she carried on,  
  
"I started kicking and I think I bit one them," she smiled briefly "Then Draco appeared in front of me grinning. He started talking to me." She stopped again and looked up from her drink, "They wanted to use me to get at you."  
  
Harry shifted on his chair; it was pretty common knowledge that Harry was a close friend to Ginny Weasley  
  
"I couldn't stand it anymore, I told him the whole place was covered with cameras and he just laughed and aimed his wand at one and blew it up. I was desperate now so I wiggled free and slapped him right in his ferret face," she took a moment to calm down, Harry waited patiently for her to continue.  
  
"He took hold of me and whispered in my ear 'I'm sure Potter wouldn't notice if you where hurt a little' that was when I punched him and ran outside and apparated. Then I came here straight away, I had no where to else to go." She finished miserably.  
  
Harry rubbed his temples; this was exactly why he had become an Auror: to protect the people he cared about. Fat lot of good that did them. Ginny started to cry. Harry hugged her. She stopped after a minute and wiped her tears.  
  
"Sorry," she mumbled, "I'm overreacting again."  
  
Harry rolled his eyes.  
  
"No your not," he said warmly. Ginny smiled and took her hair out and let her dark ginger hair fall past her shoulders.  
  
"I have to escape Harry," she said looking at him intently. "I have an idea but you're not going to like it."  
  
Harry heard it and he didn't like it.  
  
*  
  
Draco Malfoy sat in a chair staring into the fire nursing his injures. It wasn't just his jaw that was bruised. The fact she had got away was bad enough. Planning ahead wasn't a virtue that he possessed. He hadn't counted on her fighting - he didn't realise that Ginny Potter was so feisty; she obviously had found some confidence since he last saw her.  
  
He snatched the ice pack off a house elf that had just brought to him. He placed it on his jawbone taking a sharp intake of breath when it touched his skin. It was going to hurt in the morning. If only he knew some healing charms - as far as he knew, only his mother knew them and he wasn't going to ask her for anything.  
  
He wondered where she was now, probably with Potter; she had nowhere else to go. He had personally killed her parents and her older brother Percy. Also, he had it on good authority that her brothers weren't talking much to her. She had no friends at Hogwarts that were still alive; they were foolish enough to annoy him. Not even Creevy was spared.  
  
He smirked. It was only a matter of time before she cracked.  
  
Then it faded slightly; what if she didn't? What if she moved in with Potter? He groaned. He should have stayed in the flat; she would have to come back eventually. If it was only for clean clothes.  
  
Draco stood up and yelled for a house elf. One came almost at once running to keep up with him as he headed towards the door.  
  
"Don't bother making dinner, I might be out all night," he ordered as he strode a little faster.  
  
"Yes sir," it squeaked "We is not making any food for you tonight." Draco stopped and looked down on him.  
  
"Tell all visitors to come back tomorrow and save all owls," He scowled down at it "Got that?"  
  
The house elf nodded fiercely,  
  
"Yes sir," Draco grinned  
  
"Good," his grin gone now "Don't wait up," he said just before he apparated.  
  
*  
  
Harry was pacing up and down the room and Ginny was watching him with a worried expression on her face. She had now had finished her coffee and Harry had got though five. His cups littered the table and packets of sugar were strewn across the room.  
  
"Okay, let me get this straight," he started "You want me to pretend you killed yourself while you bugger of to Manchester to start a new life, new name and every thing!"  
  
Ginny nodded smiling obviously thinking Harry thought it was good idea. Harry collapsed onto the chair next to Ginny and ran his fingers through his hair. He wouldn't have though it possible but he was more stressed now than when he was when he took his O.W.L.'s.  
  
Ginny saw his exasperated face,  
  
"Harry look at me,"  
  
Harry looked at her unwillingly but he couldn't break eye contact with her when he saw her. It was something to do with those eyes, so intense and caring at the same time. Ginny held his hand and spoke to him,  
  
"Harry, I have to," she looked deeper into his eyes "Can you think of another way? Please do it, do it for me."  
  
Harry was powerless to say no.  
  
"Alright then," then quickly, just in case his secretary was listening, he whispered in her ear, "Go to my place, Ron or Hermione won't be up, go into my bedroom and go on the internet," Ginny nodded she was surprised that Harry said 'yes'  
  
"Search for jobs and houses in Manchester - you'll need somewhere Muggle," Harry stood up and continued, "I'll go to your place and get some of your things."  
  
Ginny stood up wondering whether to laugh or cry so she just hugged Harry, Harry gingerly hugged her back. She kissed him on the cheek,  
  
"Thank-you," she whispered in his ear before she disapparated. Harry sighed and apparated to Ginny's flat two miles away.  
  
*  
  
Harry arrived in the flat; it was dark. The curtains had been drawn and none of the lights were on. Harry picked up a chair that was on the floor and switched the light on.  
  
On a chair opposite Harry sat Draco Malfoy, his wand pointed right at him.  
  
"Where's Weasley you Muggle filth," he spat. Harry smiled, Malfoy didn't know who he was and he thought he was a Muggle because he had come through the front door.  
  
Harry grinned and apparated right next to him snatched his wand and threw it across the room.  
  
"Don't you recognise a old school chum Ferret?" He whispered.  
  
Draco froze and narrowed his eyes and looked up at Harry,  
  
"Potter?" Harry grinned evilly down at him, "Where's Weasley?"  
  
Harry sat down on the chair opposite and aimed his wand at his old school enemy,  
  
"Funny you should ask that," he said, 'Ah well' he thought 'might as well start with Malfoy'  
  
"She's killed herself," he continued pretending to look angry and grieving. Malfoy scowled, now he had no way of getting Potter.  
  
"Excuse me I've got to collect her things,"  
  
Then Harry stunned him. He wasn't worth an Askanban jail cell but he couldn't arrest him, he didn't have his license on him. Many cases had been lost against Deatheater because the Aurors were supposed to be on duty.  
  
Ten minutes later Harry had clothes, make-up, photos, books, soap and other things he thought she could use.  
  
He stepped over Malfoy and placed a charm on him so that would make him wake up in a few minutes.  
  
Harry smiled as he wrote a note on a bit of scrap parchment,  
  
Send the Deatheaters my love  
  
*  
  
Six weeks later Ginny couldn't believe she had got away with it, no one questioned Harry and no Deatheaters had been her way.  
  
She was now Paige Raven, dark brown haired, confident, sophisticated and very popular at work. Ginny smiled, no one would recognise her now, she had brought some glasses that had no strength and brought contacts to change her eye colour.  
  
She had broken every tie with her past life. She lived completely as a Muggle but carried a wand around with her just in case she needed it. She had only used it once when she was robbed and all that should be said is that the culprits woke up with a bad headache in their cells.  
  
Only one thing kept her tied her back to the wizarding world, apart from the wand I mean, it was the picture of Harry she kept. It was taken in Paris; Harry had taken her there when he heard she got the second highest number of O.W.L.'s (after Hermione of course).  
  
Ginny sighed and looked out of her window. She was in her apartment that used to be a cotton mill; she loved it up here. It was the highest building around and she was on the top floor. She looked out of the window and gazed at the blocks of flats, shops, schools and the odd church.  
  
She sighed happily, this felt like home.  
  
*  
  
Harry had moved out after Ginny had left, he didn't want Ron and Hermione getting hurt as well. He was a coward really; he packed his bags and left a note instead of telling them face to face - they were his speciality after- all. That and running.  
  
He now lived in a small two bed roomed apartment that used to be a small mansion before in was converted into lots of apartments or offices, and he had the top one. He was now in the West end, a two-hour drive from the suburbs where he used to live.  
  
He sighed as he looked out of his window. He sipped his coffee, black, two sugars, and wondered where Ginny was and what her name was.  
  
Present Day:  
  
That was a long time ago now and Harry only thought of her when he had a moment to himself, before he was just about to fall asleep or when he was in the shower. He wondered what kind of job she had, what colour her hair was and what her name was.  
  
It was December 22nd and it was seven o'clock and pitch black outside. Harry was getting ready to go and do some Christmas shopping after dinner. He put the cheese and bread under the grill; this was going to take FOREVER. It was a crapy electric one he found installed here and he hadn't got the money for a new one.  
  
He sat on the window gazing out into the darkness and watching the moon sliding out of a cloud and wondered if Ginny could see it.  
  
Little did he know that a girl with dark brown hair and glasses was leaning against a hedge watching Harry. She threw her cigarette on the ground and walked across to Harry's door.  
  
A/N: Soz that dragged on a bit but I had to get it all in one chapter.  
  
PLEASE REVIEW! 


	2. Roomies

Disclaimer: I don't own anything; all characters are J.K Rowling's, except a few of my own! Please don't sue me; I'm broke!  
  
Authors note: Just to clear a few things up- Ginny and Harry were NOT married before, You will find out what Ginny did to Ron and don't worry- Ginny has to stop smoking! And do realise how much peer pressure there is to smoke in Manchester? No, nor do I.  
  
Chapter 2- Coffee, black-two sugars  
  
Ginny smiled when she saw Harry at the windowsill, he even had glasses on. He was just how she had left him, his hair tousled and bright green eyes glinting like emeralds under his glasses. He looked more muscular; Ginny supposed it was training for the job.  
  
She slipped her glasses off to make sure it was Harry. She grinned; it definitely was him. She exhaled the smoke from her cigarette and glanced down at a Muggle newspaper.  
  
She wasn't sure what name to search for; he wasn't stupid enough to be listed as H. Potter. He was an Auror still and was trained to go unnoticed. He was like trophy to Deatheaters and they would stop at nothing to win it.  
  
Ginny looked around, she was in a small park sheltering under a tree because it had started to rain. She watched the raindrops slowly soak the dry autumn leaves as she thought of the very last time she had seen him up close.  
  
She looked at the newspaper; this ad had Harry written all over it. It was in London, the west end (where Harry always wanted to live), and the name was James Redwood.  
  
Ginny smile widened as all the pieces in this puzzle came together.  
  
*Flashback*  
  
Ginny sat curled up by the fire; every so often she sipped her coffee (A/N: she's an addict I know) and sighed. She was SO bored, it was a couple of days before Christmas and she had been s bored stiff she had done all her homework, even Snape's nasty essay on healing potions. (A/N: What have you done with real Ginny!!!!).  
  
Harry was there too, not saying anything just gazing into the fire as if looking for something.  
  
Ron came in the common room, came over, and fell into a chair next to Harry. He seemed unaware that the two of them were sitting in silence. He looked around a tapped his long fingers on the chair. Harry looked at him with a slight frown playing across his eyebrows.  
  
"So." Ron said finally trying to make conversation. Ginny rolled her eyes and kept staring into the fire. Ron didn't seem to know that neither of them was talking. He kept on talking so much that Ginny eventually gave in and talked to him.  
  
They were talking about utter nonsense, and then they came onto the subject on what they would change their names to if they were on the run,  
  
"MMMM." Ron said, "I think I would be. Adam Gunn." He finally finished. Ginny thought a bit about hers, she always wanted an original name,  
  
"How 'bout." she started, " Paige Jones," Ron snorted but stopped when he saw Ginny's face. She glared at him for a moment before directing her attention onto Harry.  
  
"What about you Harry?" she asked gently, Harry had hardly said anything, Harry looked at her with a puzzled look,  
  
"I dunno," he replied intelligently "Um. James Redwood I suppose."  
  
*Present time*  
  
Ginny looked down at the newspaper, it was too perfect:  
  
ROOMATE WANTED  
  
JAMES REDWOOD  
  
NON-SMOKER  
  
£100 A MONTH (A/N: I've no idea how much it would really cost- I don't live anywhere near London!) WEST END  
  
And then it gave all the address and telephone number and stuff. This was the right address, right person but something was bothering her- maybe this was to perfect.  
  
She looked up through the braches of the trees; at least it had stopped raining now.  
  
^**^  
  
Harry closed the curtains- he really needed to get a life. Here he was at home on a Saturday night, waiting for the grill to heat up. He couldn't even use magic at home or the Deatheaters could track him and they knew it. He put his hand in grill to see if it was working- nothing.  
  
He put the tray in and wondered around his apartment. He picked up a book- he needed to read it by Monday or he would not know what he was doing for a raid.  
  
He had quit his job two years ago- he got a few funny looks from his work mates and his boss when he told them. He moved and joined up as an Auror in a different department- Protection of the People. He had always wanted to join but when they heard Harry wanted it they moved him to the most BORING department possible- he had forgotten its name but he had to do A LOT of paperwork and got a decent paycheck.  
  
He moved, changed his name (now James Redwood to the outside world) and signed up. The minister wanted him to change his appearance slightly so he now had blue eyes and for work his hair was slightly brown, but the charm wore off.  
  
But with this job he had to get his hands dirty. In this department they fought fire with fire- no questions asked. The only thing keeping them from going down to the Deatheaters level and using Dark magic was the uniform. Well, this is what the chief had said on the very first day of training.  
  
And they didn't wear uniform anymore- they were undercover. (A/N: Sounds gay don't it?)  
  
Even through only the minister of magic knew, now Percy Weasley, he often had people come up to him and say 'You're the spitting image of Harry Potter you are!' He had coloured contacts to hide his green eyes, through he took them out at night and wore glasses, and he found a spell to hide the scar. It only hid it for twelve hours but it lasted a shift at least.  
  
So now everyone at work called him James and they had at last stopped making jokes about his last name which was to them Redwood.  
  
But Harry had been promoted already- he was surprised. He always thought he was promoted because he had a scar and famous name. But he seemed to be a natural. He was also appalled that people treasured Harry Potter above another person when it came to jobs and lives. But the more he thought about it, the more he became angry. He was glad he changed then because he couldn't stand the publicity any longer.  
  
It was only a matter of time before he killed a reported- he had already given one bad concussion for a week for taking a picture in his face and his reactions had gotten the best of him.  
  
Harry picked up the book, Practises of Muggle torture, and started on the first page. This had to be the most boring book he'd read and he had only gone through the first page. He chucked back on the pile in the middle of the table and went to see if anything was happening to his dinner.  
  
"Nothing," he growled as he looked into the grill, he almost wished he was back at home with Ron and Hermione. At least they had a decent grill. And he could do magic there as well.  
  
He stomped back into his room and put his contacts in- he was very bored- and looked at himself. He waited for the tears to go and looked at his reflection. Why was his hair so god damn messy? It had definitely got worse over the past two years. And was he incapable of buying ANY decent clothes? He only had a t-shirt and some scruffy worn out jeans on. All his mates at work who lived in the Muggle world were smart at least some of the time.  
  
But having to wear Dudley's old clothes for most of his life had had an effect on him- he felt uncomfortable wearing clothes that are not two sizes to big.  
  
He walked back into the sitting room and switched the television on. Boring, Boring, Boring, Boring, Boring. Nothing at all (A/N: At this point I think I might have to say in the UK most people only have about four or five channels- Thank You!)  
  
Harry switched it off and sat down with his arms folded, it was so boring living on his own. That was one of the reasons he had advertised for a roomie, he was practically a hermit- he never went out- and he REALLY needed some extra money.  
  
He knew he was asking for trouble, if anyone picked up the newspaper and came he would have to uproot and move on- again.  
  
Well, it wasn't like he had that problem. So far he'd had no calls about it and no one had come round. Well, someone would have to be desperate enough to call so it was just a matter of time.  
  
Harry thought sadly of what he would do if he were at home with Ron and Hermione. Chances are they would be having an argument over something a small and insignificant as a sock (it has been known). He smiled sadly as he remembered how the toilets walls were plastered with Chudley Cannons posters and how Hermione tried in vain to stop any owls coming through her bedroom window.  
  
Inevitably when he thought of the magical world he came onto Ginny.  
  
It had been two long years and he had changed a lot. He noticed his reflection in the mirror across the room; scar was beginning to appear again. Harry could be bothered to re-do the charm and anyway it wasn't like Muggle's knew who he really was.  
  
He wondered if Ginny had changed a lot. He could never imagine her without her dark ginger, almost brown, hair and her brown/hazel eyes. He sighed for no reason and shuffled into the kitchen.  
  
He glanced hopefully into the grill- can we guess? - Nothing.  
  
Harry swore as he turned around and searched through the cupboards for a clean mug, he glimpsed the sink. Piled up full of dirty dishes, he so desperately wanted to clean them but he decided to wait until he had a call or something.  
  
He finally found a dirty, chipped mug at the back and he filled the kettle, turned it on and rooted around for some tea bags.  
  
^*_*^  
  
Ginny chucked her cigarette on the road as she crossed. She managed to dodge being splashed buy a passing black cab and walked up the steps towards the intercom.  
  
She glanced up and down the list of tenants, her heart raced as she realised he wasn't there. She looked again and noticed that the writing was smudged on the last one- the person on the top.  
  
She smiled and gingerly pressed the wet button.  
  
She heard a far off buzz and some far off swearing- definitely Harry then.  
  
^*_*^  
  
"Where the hell were those BLOODY tea bags!" Harry hollered to no one,  
  
He had his head and his shoulders in looking for the things and as he thought he saw them the buzzer went.  
  
It caught him by surprise and he banged his head on the inside of the cupboard and swore loudly- that stuff is metal and it was hard,  
  
"BUGER!" he yelled as he removed himself from the smelly cabinet. He got up and rubbed his head then remembered the buzzer,  
  
"DAMNIT!" he swore as he slipped on the wooden floor ran towards the intercom,  
  
"Hello?" came a small voice at the end of the line. Harry stopped in his tracks, it sounded like Ginny.  
  
"Is this James Redwood's apartment?" Harry's heart sank; they were just here about the roomie thing. He tried to shrug off the feeling he got when he thought it was her,  
  
"I am he," he answered into the speaker, "Come up, the door is open,"  
  
He pressed another metal button and raced around the apartment picking up stray laundry and spraying an air freshener all over the place with his spare hand.  
  
DING-DONG  
  
The doorbell announced the person's arrival,  
  
"Shit," he muttered urgently looking around for any place for him to dump his load. His eye fell onto the door of his room, which was slightly ajar- it was the best place in such an emergency.  
  
He ran over, slipping all the way, jumped of the sofa and fell over and the clothes went flying into his room. He hastily slammed the door and chucked his socks in with them and sprinted over to the door.  
  
He wrenched it open and looked at the person in the landing,  
  
"Wow," they said at the same time.  
  
They stood there for a moment just looking at each other- Harry forgetting that the kettle was whistling and Ginny almost forgetting to breath.  
  
@Authors note@  
  
Thanks everyone 4 reviewing, you are just the BEST!  
  
I know there are bout a MILLION faults with this chapter so I can't really be bothered to go through them all. And yes I have put it through a spell checker before any of you start on me about the wording- I'm just sorry ok.  
  
Thanx especially 2 momo 4 helping me out with the story and stuff- it would love to thank all of you on your own but there are too many!  
  
E-mail me with any ideas u have.  
  
Thanks and I'm working on chappie 3 as u read! 


	3. The fountain of my ideas has dried up

Disclaimer: I don't own anything; all characters are J.K Rowling's, except a few of my own! Please don't sue me; I'm broke!  
  
Authors Note: Fred, George and Bill are erm, gonna come into the story later. That's all I can really say without spoiling the plot.  
  
Chapter 3: The fountain of my ideas had dried up  
  
He wrenched it open and looked at the person in the landing,  
  
"Wow," they said at the same time.  
  
They stood there for a moment just looking at each other- Harry forgetting that the kettle was whistling and Ginny almost forgetting to breath.  
  
~*~  
  
Harry stared at the person in front of him, all previous thoughts forgotten. Time seemed to stop she returned his gaze. Those blue/brown eyes stirred something in him- like his sub-conscious recognised them- and he found it impossible to stop looking at them.  
  
Her brown hair was in a clasp on the back of her head but a few locks fell out and curled round her face. The thin-rimmed glasses framed her face and she gave off an air of confidence and sophistication.  
  
The pale freckles under her eyes where subtle and stirred up yet more feelings  
  
He swallowed with difficultly when he realised that she was doing the same thing to him. The few seconds they were in silence seemed like an eternity and he was only brought back to his sense when she spoke softly,  
  
"You must be James Redwood then,"  
  
~*~  
  
It was Harry. No doubt about it.  
  
His black hair still as untidy as ever and even though his eyes were now changed to a gorgeous chocolate brown, there was still flecks of green around the edges. He was transfixed with her and for a moment she thought that he recognised her there was a flicker of recognition when he open the door and saw her for the first time.  
  
He looked not a day over twenty one and he was no longer the slim person she remembered. He seemed to give of an appearance of authority and power, which made her slightly apprehensive.  
  
His glasses where gone, even though she saw this before it was very strange to see him up close for the first time in two years without them on.  
  
She had missed him so much and now she saw him it brought back up all the feelings of gratitude she had felt those two years ago.  
  
Suddenly, the whistling of the kettle interrupted her dream and she was brought back into real world. She blushed slightly and looked at her feet nervously before speaking softly,  
  
"You must be James Redwood then,"  
  
~*~  
  
"You must be James Redwood then,"  
  
Harry woke up. He had been in a different world. He shook himself inside- it had been a long time when he had been out of control of his feelings, two years to be precise.  
  
"Yeah, I am,"  
  
She smiled wryly for a moment- Harry couldn't understand for the life of him why.  
  
"I'm here in relation to your advert in the paper,"  
  
She held up the paper for Harry to see. He noticed his advertisement immediately; it was one of many circled but the only not scribbled out in a bright blue pen. Blue, that was Ginny's favourite.  
  
"So, is it taken?"  
  
Harry was getting worried now, that had been the second time in ten seconds he had let his mind drift to Ginny. Then he smiled, not a phone call about it every since the advert went in.  
  
"No," he said after moment, "It's free, do you want to come in?"  
  
****Authors Note****  
  
Sorry that was so short I figured you might want anything instead of nothing so there you go.  
  
I know the quality has gone seriously down hill and this is not the kind of thing you want after like a month of nothing so all I can say is SORRY and trust me, I say it a lot where my fics' are concerned.  
  
Please review- even if there're nasty, horrible etc ones (not to nasty please) 


	4. House Warming literally

: SweetIris98Disclaimer: I don't own anything (except the plot but you needn't worry Mr. Warner and his brother, there isn't much of a plot); all characters are J.K Rowling's, except a few of my own! Please don't sue me; I'm broke!  
  
Authors Note: I know I may be like totally overreacting (there's no maybe about it) and will probably be proven wrong but; lil kawaii doom, The UK is NOT switching to Euros okay?  
  
I'm sorry if that kind of sounded snappish but I had to get it out of my system and it was nothing personal and I hope you will continue to read this story.  
  
And sorry again about the quality of the chapter- it has got worse- and we changed the Internet server so it's been playing up about so I couldn't post as soon as I would have like to. But, I did mean that could add a little bit more on this chapter.  
  
P.S. I based the most of Harry's apartment on my uncles flat in Manchester so all the description of the house is TOTALLY non-fiction!!!!  
  
And a while back, Harry was making cheese on toast and put the pan under the grill- I'll say no more.  
  
Chapter 4: House Warming, err, quite literally  
  
She held up the paper for Harry to see. He noticed his advertisement immediately; it was one of many circled but the only not scribbled out in a bright blue pen. Blue, that was Ginny's favourite.  
  
"So, is it taken?"  
  
Harry was getting worried now, that had been the second time in ten seconds he had let his mind drift to Ginny. Then he smiled, not a phone call about it every since the advert went in.  
  
"No," he said after moment, "It's free, do you want to come in?"  
  
~*~  
  
Ten minutes later Ginny, or rather Paige, was sitting on a chair in her future roomies flat. Looking around she could see that this was certainly a boy's flat.  
  
Apart from the smell of Woodland glade air freshener and smelly socks mixed together, it was a complete and utter disarray.  
  
Unfinished reports and papers were strewn about all over the coffee table and more then one had tea rings staining the corners. There were some books there hidden under some papers and several old mugs with some old tea in.  
  
She ignored the smell and leaned forward and moved some papers out of the way. They revealed a thick, leather covered book.  
  
1001 ways to repel Dark Charms  
  
Paige grinned, so Harry was still some kind of Aura- perfect.  
  
Her thoughts were interrupted by Harry's voice floating in from the kitchen,  
  
"Do you want anything to drink? Tea, coffee, orange juice?"  
  
"Please, I'll have a coffee" she replied, she was gasping for a drink- she didn't have any spare change for a drink on the train down so she couldn't buy one.  
  
"How do you like it?"  
  
Paige had to almost yell her answer; the sound of mugs and cups being hastily washed meant Harry couldn't hear anything until the third time she said it,  
  
"Black, two sugars,"  
  
The sound of water being poured suddenly stopped, and she remembered why.  
  
"Pardon?" came Harry's voice,  
  
She could have kicked herself then.  
  
~*~  
  
Ten minutes later Harry was in the kitchen wiping all the surfaces as quickly as he could while trying find two clean mugs. But he soon discovered that he was going to have to wash some and he wasn't looking forward to it.  
  
The kettle clicked signalling that it had boiled; he had better ask if she wanted a drink,  
  
"Do you want anything to drink? Tea, coffee, orange juice?"  
  
She didn't answer for a moment, as if he had interrupted her if she was daydreaming,  
  
"Please, I'll have a coffee" she replied, which was just as well, he didn't have any tea bags or orange juice.  
  
He opened the fridge and closed it almost at once, milk wasn't an option but he asked anyway,  
  
"How do you like it?"  
  
He started washing two of the least dirty mugs he could find and as he did so he could hear her answer until the third time, and that was only because she yelled,  
  
"Black, two sugars,"  
  
Harry turned off the tap and placed the mugs on the side. Had he heard right? Black and two sugars? It wasn't a very common way to have coffee and he only knew one person, who has it like that,  
  
"Pardon?" he asked after a moment,  
  
She didn't answer for a moment and when she did it was kind of hesitant,  
  
"Er.black with two sugars,"  
  
He shook himself- he was jut getting paranoid. There were millions of people in London alone let alone in all the country. Did he expect Ginny to be the only one who had coffee like that?  
  
He poured the steaming water into the mugs and carried them into the living room where she was sitting. Luckily she didn't seem to mind the mess too much.  
  
He placed her mug on the only mat on the table before sitting down on the settee as well. They sat in awkward silence before Harry spoke,  
  
"Sorry about the mess, I wasn't expecting anyone,"  
  
~*~  
  
Harry didn't ask any questions about the coffee thing and anyway, how many people in the world have their coffee like that? He didn't say anything after that; the only sound in the whole place was the sound of hot water being poured into some mugs and a teaspoon being stirred around.  
  
Finally he came through the door and placed her mugs on what seemed to be the only mat on the table or at least the only visible one.  
  
He sat down on the sofa next to her and for the next few seconds they sat in silence, Ginny  
  
"Sorry about the mess, I wasn't expecting anyone,"  
  
Ginny smiled politely to stop her self-saying, "Obviously, I've seen tidier bomb sites,"  
  
She bit her bottom lip and took a sip of coffee, enjoyed the taste for a moment. She had forgotten how well Harry made coffee's- he never did tell her the secret of a perfect coffee.  
  
Harry was getting uncomfortable- she could tell and the awkward silence that had followed Harry's last words seemed to be swallowing the flat whole.  
  
"So," started Harry clearly trying to make conversation, "Do you want to see the room you would be having if you moved in?"  
  
Ginny was apprehensive about moving away from the little neatness there seemed to be here and Harry must have picked up on that,  
  
"Don't worry," he said smiling, "The room is tidy,"  
  
She placed the mug on the table again before standing up and following Harry across the room.  
  
At the very back of the living room/general living space there were three large windows, on both side there was a door. Harry led her to the right and opened the door and stood back so she could get through,  
  
"This would be your room,"  
  
Ginny walked through and was amazed - it was tidy. There was a bed on one side, a bedside table and a chest of drawers and bookshelf with a mirror on top- apart from that there were a few empty cardboard boxes in the corner.  
  
The walls were painted light blue until they came to a border of silver stars where it went darker, there was a simple up lighter on the ceiling and that was it- this could be her room.  
  
Harry came in after but wasn't nearly as amazed as Ginny and he just glanced around before speaking again,  
  
"The room was like this before I moved in- you can change it if you want,"  
  
Ginny turned around on the spot, she wouldn't change it for the world- it was so relaxing in here.  
  
"And, sorry about the cardboard boxes- I'll move them,"  
  
Ginny didn't care about a few boxes so her grin just widened. There was a door near the base of the bed that she just noticed and she pointed to it,  
  
"What's through there?"  
  
Harry smiled warmly,  
  
"Just remembered," He said walking over to the door and opened it, "May I present to you," he opened it grandly as if he was just revealing a new picture in the gallery instead of opening a door,  
  
"Your own personal bathroom,"  
  
She stepped through not really knowing what to expect- it didn't matter anyway; she had never had her own private en-suite.  
  
It was small, even she admitted it, but there was more than enough space for a bath/shower, toilet and a sink there was even a towel rack in the corner. It was just pain white with a single window at the end where the sink and mirror were it also had wooden flooring throughout.  
  
She could do nothing except grin like an idiot as she manoeuvred as best she could in the limited space and went of to the window. It wasn't much of a sight because of the rain and the darkness but she could see the park she was little of a quarter of an hour ago.  
  
~*~  
  
Harry just lent against the doorframe of the bathroom while she gracefully walked over to the window and peered out- he had no idea why, it was eight o'clock in the middle of December pitch black and pouring with rain. Not the most picturesque time of year to look out, all the leaves in the park had fallen off and all the paths were littered with half-composted foliage.  
  
She seemed happy enough with the flat even though it was such a mess. Now he was glad that he hadn't taken his friends from work advice to turn this room into a shrine to Quiddich.  
  
Quiddich- that reminded him of Ron and he wondered if the study was still plastered with that orange kitted team. He sighed and rubbed his eyes where his glasses rubbed earlier on, well at least Paige seemed pleased with the room and everything.  
  
That was really the reason he advertised for a roommate, because he never saw many people- sure there were people at work but apart from that he hardly ever went out. He was lonely. He had been living on his own for the past to years and a few weeks ago it had finally got to him and he put the ad in the paper.  
  
But, if Paige moved in he would really have to tidy up even he admitted it was a mess but now he was really glad he hadn't come into this room at all.  
  
Paige was now turning the taps on and off and generally wandering around checking out every nook and cranny of possibly her new en-suite.  
  
When she looked up Harry noticed that she was grinning and he returned it and hoped it was a good sign.  
  
~*~  
  
Harry was just leaning on the doorframe watching her; she could feel it and surprisingly it didn't make her nervous. She had known Harry for over eleven years (she's twenty one) and knew that he would never hurt a hair on her head.  
  
She owed him for what he did for her two years ago and now it was her turn to repay him even if it was small things first.  
  
She looked up, the wide beam still on her lips and caught his eye, he gave her a half hearted smile in return but it didn't reach up into his eyes which made her wonder that something else was on his mind.  
  
"So." he started clearly unsure about where to start as he looked round the cramped room for any sign of inspiration. Smiling, she waited a for him to finish all the time wondering what that smell was ad it definitely wasn't woodland glade,  
  
"What do you think?" he asked at last, "Of the room and stuff,"  
  
Ginny would have grinned if she weren't already smiling like a manic, stuff- a typical 'Harry' word,  
  
"I think it's." she began but that smell was really heavy now, what was it- it was like burning cheese or bread, "Sorry but what IS that smell," she finished putting her hand on her hip.  
  
Harry sniffed the air and his eyes widened. She only just had time to see this because then rushed out of the room skidding on the rugs that were thrown here and there on the plain floor boards that seemed to cover the entire apartment, she followed him warily and carefully after seeing what happened with the rugs.  
  
He was in the kitchen swearing loudly at something,  
  
"FUCK!" he hollered into the air, "STUPID, CRAPY CHEAP GRILL!!!!"  
  
Peeping round the corner, she saw him by a grill trying to waft the smoke away from what appeared to be two pieces of coal with some burnt yellow gloop on top - she couldn't resist a giggle.  
  
~*~  
  
His dinner had burnt. Usually it would even heat up but now, now he still couldn't eat it. He skidded into the kitchen, no chance for embarrassment, and saw the smoke billowing out of the top and hugging the ceiling. The fire alarm hadn't gone off because the battery was hanging of a wire below- he never took Muggle Studies and the Dursley's would let him near a fire alarm.  
  
He grabbed the pan and yanked it out quickly, there lay the remains of his tea all shrivelled and burnt.  
  
"FUCK!" he hollered into the air, "STUPID, CRAPY CHEAP GRILL!!!!"  
  
Suddenly one of the remains of bread ignited sending another wave of panic over him. Wafting the nearest tea cloth over it didn't seemed to do any good, if anything it made it worse. The smoke was again clouding his vision as he grabbed it and chucked it under the sink and ran the tap over it.  
  
After several moment of hissing and spitting, the smoke finally clearly and he was left with all his face blackened glad for once he wasn't wearing glasses.  
  
Running his fingers through his hair he looked up. There, trying her hardest not to laugh out loud was Paige using the doorframe for support.  
  
~*~  
  
It was just so funny; she had to use all of her self-control not to laugh out loud. But that was over half an hour ago and no she was in the door way onto the landing out side. She was moving tomorrow, just before Christmas but she had no idea how to do it the muggle way. Maybe it would be time to use her wand again.  
  
  
  
Authors Note:  
  
Soz about the wait  
  
If anyone would like an update email just leave your email address in the review cos my Outlook Express doesn't work  
  
*Next Chapter* "Why have you got black hair dye?" 


	5. No, please, not the curtains

Disclaimer: I don't own anything (except the plot but you needn't worry Mr. Warner and his brother, there isn't much of a plot); all characters are J.K Rowling's, except a few of my own! Please don't sue me; I'm broke!  
  
Authors Note: Sorry about the wait- again. I have no excuse- please forgive me. If you do forgive me - review. If you hate me- review  
  
But this time it was delayed cos of the swap thing to FanPress.net or whatever it is and it was ready on Saturday. Oh, my writers' block may have had something to do with it.  
  
WARNING: JUST WATCHED AUSTIN POWERS (Yeah Baby!!!) SPY WHO SHAGGED ME!!! BEWARE: EXCESSIVE USE OF THE WORD FRICKEN ("Laser")  
  
Chapter 5: NO!!!! DO NOT OPEN THE FRICKEN CURTAINS  
  
Boxing Day:  
  
Harry intended to spend today like he did every year; watch video's all day and wonder why Ron and Hermione weren't owling him. It wasn't like he could owl them because he had left Hedwig with them when he left.  
  
If only he had a shopping channel then his sad life would be complete.  
  
He flicked over and decided to watch a made for TV film about a dog with cancer and got around on a wheelchair. The only other choice was some children's morning programme where the presenters seem to be on some kind of sugar high.  
  
The apartment was now tidier than it had ever been when Harry lived here. The floor was devoid of any kind of socks or clothes and he had finally found a way open the windows without a crow bar. The kitchen also way free of any real mess, a box of corn flakes don't REALLY count, because as soon as Paige left a couple of day's earlier he went straight in there and cleaned all the dishes and brushed all the dust of the cleaning products he brought for some unexplainable reason.  
  
He had become VERY tempted into using magic when he found the remains of beans on toast crusted onto a plate.  
  
Paige.  
  
That was another thing.  
  
He couldn't really do the stuff he used to but he wasn't exactly sad about this. At least now he had someone to talk to and stop being the hermit he was. And it wasn't like he came home with girls all the time.  
  
~* Ginny POV*~  
  
Her eyes flew open.  
  
This wasn't her room- this room was different. Bigger, bluer and much much nicer.  
  
Throwing off the covers she ran into her new en-suite and peered out of the window properly for the first time. She didn't have the chance last night because she was spending all her time making 'James' put on a paper Christmas hat and get a photo of it.  
  
She was surprised how well she got on with Harry again- it was as if there wasn't two years separating them. On several occasions she had to stop herself calling him Harry and once she didn't respond when he yelled Paige. She ought to be used to it now after two years but now she saw Harry again it brought back memories of her old life. When she was Ginny Weasley.  
  
Watching a group of kids play tag for a while in the park then she shuffled out of the bathroom and into her new room. She leaned on the door way and sighed happily- she couldn't help it.  
  
There were still some boxes to sort out but apart from that- this felt like home more tan Manchester ever did. And she's only been here a day and a half.  
  
Still smiling. She slipped her slippers on and shuffled into the living room enjoying sliding about on the wooden floors.  
  
Gliding into the living room she noticed Harry just sitting on the dusty out sofa watching the television blankly. If he had his mouth open it wouldn't look out of place.  
  
She squinted at his eyes hoping seeing him this early in the morning that he would have not bothered to put his contacts in. As lovely as he looked with brown eyes- it didn't seem right on him. But no such look- they were brown.  
  
"Damn," she cursed softly and Harry looked around as if he was just waking up from a daydream. He caught her eye and smiled half heartedly,  
  
"Hey," he whispered hoarsely, waving hello, "Sleep aright last night?"  
  
Slumping down next to Harry bouncing slightly. Harry groaned and clutched his head,  
  
She didn't have to say anything the puzzled look on her face said it all,  
  
"Late night, beer, too much turkey," he said dumbly- it was obviously too early for complex sentences. 'Hey sleep alright?' seemed to be his limit. Now she understood why all the curtains were closed.  
December 28th:  
  
Harry POV:  
  
It was hard work having a roommate after so many years of living the life of a lonely bachelor.  
  
He had to put his contacts on and find a why to cover up his scar without magic and he dreaded to think if anyone came in and saw all the muggle foundation and concealer in his bathroom cupboard.  
  
And this was before he could lay his hands on a mug of tea- and people get cranky if their tea-less in the morning (A/N: My brother) Harry being no exception. It was a matter of time before he slipped up.  
  
But apart from having to hide his identity and everything, living with Paige was much better than living on his own. The past few days' they had just been a blur and he and Paige were now at the point that they were relaxed around each other. It wasn't like someone was visiting and he had to be on best behaviour he could be himself- more or less.  
  
He now knew little of her past- she had moved down form Manchester which when he heard it made him drop the mug of tea he was carrying in. When he came in from the kitchen he saw her hitting her forehead with the palm of her hand saying 'Crap, Crap, Crap'. She had to move down with her work, lawyer but when he asked her where all her book and papers where she merely shrugged and said they were at the office.  
  
~* Ginny POV *~  
  
She really had no idea that Harry was so inquisitive. He was never like this to her a couple of years ago. But then again a couple of years ago he wasn't so quite, so reserved and he never woke up in the middle of the night breathing heavily and yelling 'Weasley'. She had heard him on Christmas night at about ten past one when she was getting a glass of water and his room was next to the kitchen.  
  
She knew he had them before but this time it was different. It hit home - quite literately. He had been the one who had told her about her parent's murder, he had been the one to comfort her and he had been the one who had protected her.  
::: Flashback :::  
  
Hey there you've reached Ginny's answer phone sing your song after the beep!  
  
*BEEP*  
  
"Hey Ginny you there?"  
  
Harry's worried voice came floating into her mind waking her up from a bliss full daydream in her bubble bath. Her world just then was free of Deatheaters, murders and deadlines.  
  
"Ginny? Ginny. C'mon just pick the fucking phone up!"  
  
Ginny poked her head out of the bath to get a better listen to the message; it wasn't like Harry to swear unnecessary.  
  
"Please Ginny- I know your there just get out of the bath you lazy git."  
  
"Buggar off," she thought lazily as she sank into the water, emerging her entire head in the warm bath water that she had just poured. But after about thirty seconds the phone automatically disconnected, leaving Harry's curses mid-sentence.  
  
Smiling in relieve, she pulled all the hair out of her face and rubbed the shampoo into it a little more. She cupped her hands and blew some bubble through the open door and down the hallway in the general direction of the phone; can nobody be left alone on a Saturday afternoon?  
  
The phone started ringing again.  
  
Apparently not.  
  
With one last sigh she gave up and stood up, there was just no peace for the wicked, and doged in and out of the candles that littered that floor of her bathroom. She grabbed a towel of the radiator and shuffled across the landing leaving a trail of wet footprints on the carpet behind her. She didn't really want another message like that especially as her father sometimes noses about the answer machine.  
  
Wiping her hand on the towel that covered her, she picked up the receiver,  
  
She opened her mouth to say hello but was cut of,  
  
"Ginny? Is that you?"  
  
It was Harry again; boy he doesn't give up easily.  
  
"Yep, the one and only," she replied leaning against the radiator, that was by the phone stand in the hall, to keep warm. Harry sounded really stressed, it hadn't been her fault that there was a power cut- that was why there where so many candles in the bathroom and the boiler had been the only thing on.  
  
"Ginny," he stammered on the other end of the phone, "It's, it's, it's."  
  
Something was really up; it wasn't very often that Harry was lost for words.  
  
But she wasn't concerned; she had just had a lavender bubble bath- her head was swimming. She merely laughed,  
  
"Spit it out Harry," she joked,  
  
"It's your parents Ginny,"  
  
The bottom fell out of her stomach and she dropped the phone.  
~*~*~*~*~*~*~  
  
You know I could have left it as a clifffie you know but I'm kinda scared of some of you. But come on- this is the fifth page so I think I will leave it.  
  
~*~*~*~*~*~*  
  
MUHAHAHAHAHA!!!! Review and you'll find out what else happens on that eventful day and you'll find out why Ron hates Ginny so much and why she had to run. 


	6. When you point a finger at someone remem...

Disclaimer: I don't own anything (except the plot but you needn't worry Mr. Warner and his brother, there isn't much of a plot); all characters are J.K Rowling's, except a few of my own! Please don't sue me; I'm broke!  
Authors Note: God, I'm evil aren't I? But you had better be glad; I stopped writing one of my other favourite fics (summer lovin') so I could concentrate more on this.  
  
In this chapter you find out exactly why Ginny has always felt so guilty about her parents death.  
  
Also, I said this last time but I'll say it again- if you want an update e- mail, leave your e-mail address in the review. My Outlook Express doesn't work and it would really help me, and you.  
  
Again with the wait I know but it was half term last week (a week break in the middle of a term at school) and now I'm back. It's Monday, I have History, art and science to get through and here I am. You had just better review.  
  
Another thing- I've had tonsillitis's and it hurts to SWALLOW!!! And, I 'm REALLY thirsty all the time-vicious circle.  
  
But, I've just had a puppy!!!! My mum just come home with it (I'm not spoilt- it wasn't to cheer me up. It was for the family) with the shopping from Tesco. Ickle Jack Russell six-week-old tan with white spots!!!  
  
Right- I'll stop with the showing off.  
  
About the title, well.I couldn't think of a better (or shorter) one.  
  
Chapter 6: When you point a finger at someone remember- there's three pointing right back at you.  
"Ginny," he stammered on the other end of the phone, "It's, it's, it's."  
  
Something was really up; it wasn't very often that Harry was lost for words.  
  
But she wasn't concerned; she had just had a lavender bubble bath- her head was swimming. She merely laughed,  
  
"Spit it out Harry," she joked twisting the cord on the phone absent- mindedly,  
  
"It's your parents Ginny,"  
  
The bottom fell out of her stomach and she dropped the phone.  
  
~*~*~*~  
  
Ten minutes later Ginny was trying to negotiate her way through the never- ending corridors of Auror Headquarters.  
  
There was nothing to distinguish each hallway from the other.  
  
Every single one of the stupid things were all painted the same ghastly light yellow and seemed to go all fuzzy in the distance. The only thing standing out in this sea of sickly yellow was the odd Supplies Closet and the occasional office that all seemed to have the same surname.  
  
"Mr. Smith, Miss. Jones (that's my friends name!!! Oh right, the story.) Mr. Irving,"  
  
She was reading them off as she past but this was not what she was looking for. These were all people with paper work jobs boring. She was sure Harry wouldn't work here.  
  
Glancing behind she noticed the trail of wet dots on the white, plastic-y surface (like in hospital that always squeaks however hard you try to walk properly). She put her hair up in a pony tail while standing in the middle of the hallway looking up and down it in a desperate attempt to get her bearings.  
  
It didn't work.  
  
All she saw was the trail of drops of water her wet hair had left on the other wise clean floor.  
  
She leaned against a wall and slid down and hit the floor with a soft thud.  
  
She might as well wait for someone to come past, they might know the way back or at least she could mug them for any food they had on them. She was starving. Or maybe their company would be kind of nice. The silence here sort of ate you up. This feeling of course was not helped by the fact that most offices would have a Silencing Charm on so no one could here what was going on inside.  
  
Anyone would be fine right now  
  
But seeing as she was on her own, she only had herself for company and only her thoughts to keep her awake. Right now though, they were wandering where she didn't want them to go to.  
  
Her parents.  
  
If anything had happened to them she wouldn't get over it, it would be all her fault. She worked for the Daily Prophet and now had her very own column.  
  
But it was dangerous these days to speak out openly against the Dark Lord and his followers.  
  
She had to, Colin and Dennis had been killed on the night before Colin's wedding. Colin had never done anything to anyone Before the night she heard, she had managed to convince herself that these people killed had done something to deserve it but it hit her that night.  
  
You-know-who and his followers would kill anyone- reason or no reason.  
  
She had been filled with an emotion that she had never felt before- hatred. It boiled up and spilled over in the form of her article. Too many good people had died needlessly and the Ministry was just letting this happen letting families be ripped apart, friends separated forever.  
  
It had to end.  
  
And because of Ginny, her parents probably had. She had paid the price and it wasn't only her- it was her brother, Harry and Hermione. What was she going to say to them?  
  
Rubbing her temples she tried desperately to fight the tears back but with really no success. Here she was, no idea where in world Harry's office was, lonely and, more likely than not, with no parents.  
  
"Ginny?"  
  
Her head snapped up, it was Harry. Did he always have to see her when she was upset or helpless?  
  
She didn't reply, only stood up and brushed herself down; she didn't want to provoke the lump in her throat- it wasn't the time especially in front of Harry.  
  
"Ginny," he asked again but this time in a much softer, soothing voice, "Are you ok?"  
  
That was a stupid question- of course she wasn't ok.  
  
"Yeah," she slightly dazed, "What are you doing here?"  
  
"Looking for you,"  
  
They started walking along one of the corridors, Harry guiding her all the way. After a while she went quite and only answered his questions with a nod or a shake of the head. He gave up soon and again the silence ate them up.  
  
"Harry?" she asked suddenly realising that he hadn't told her much, "Are they really.."  
  
But she couldn't bring herself to say it but Harry seemed to understand.  
  
"Oh Ginny," he sighed turning round to face her. It wasn't exactly an answer but she got the message- he confirmed her worst fears-they were dead.  
  
~*~  
  
"Here's my office," he said stopping outside a door that was no different from the others except the 'Mr Potter' on the nameplate. Bracing herself for her brother's reactions, she walked up to the door and reached put for the handle but Harry arm grabbed hers, just as she was about to turn the handle.  
  
"Try and be strong," he whispered, "They'll kill me for saying this but they're all wrecks- you have to be strong if only for them. You can do all your crying in the car, at home, anywhere but here ok?"  
  
She nodded silently. The lump had returned at the back of her throat and it seemed twice as big and just as temperamental.  
  
Every thing seemed to go in slow motion. Slowly she saw her hand reach for the brass handle, turned it revealing what was left of her broken family.  
  
Ron sitting on a chair, face in hands, and Hermione patting back gently also fighting back tears looking like she hadn't slept at all. She gave Ginny a small smile and wiped her face with the back of her hand before she went back to comforting Ron.  
  
Bill and Charlie where next to a water fountain in the corner, Bill had his back on the wall, slowly sipping the plastic cup that he held. Charlie had his elbow on the top of the fountain, shading his eyes with his had- he had never cried in front of anyone really before.  
  
Fred was talking to Percy who had his head bowed, Ginny reckoned that he thought himself responsible- he had just been made minister of magic and it wasn't the time to stand out these days.  
  
She took another step into the room and found George, on his own, by the windowsill. She felt Harry walk past her and sit by Hermione, talking to her for a moment before fetching Ron a cup of water.  
  
Ginny followed Harry with her eyes to Ron who looked up before shaking his head dumbly at the offer of a drink of water. He looked up and aught Ginny's eye,  
  
Harry was right- they all looked a wreck.  
  
Ron's face was covered in tear stains, Hermione's bottom lip was red from her consistent biting of it, Percy's face had a red mark where his hand at been, Bill looked like he had just crawled out of bed, Charlie was still in the dark with Ginny still unable to see what he was like, Fred's hair was sticking up like he had been running his fingers through it a bit too many times.  
  
She wasn't exactly presentable - only Harry was really. He had Aurors robes on looking very smart in them she noticed and for once he had glasses on- he had brought a pair of contacts a couple of months ago.  
  
But it was George that made her feel worse of all. He was just sitting on the sill of the window staring out onto the muggle world on the other side. She noticed his eyes flick back and forth watching bus come in and out of his sight all the time his jaw went into of tighter and tighter line.  
  
He and Fred were always the ones to make light of a heavy situation but now- they were both pasty faced and mirthless. Ginny couldn't blame them.  
  
What seemed like hours, but was only a matter of seconds, Ginny crossed the grieve-stricken room to her brother on the ledge of the window.  
  
He jumped as she placed a hand gently on his shoulder and turned around. Ginny gave him a feeble smile and at they both embraced.  
  
For years to come Ginny would remember that hug and every time she did, she wanted her old life back, even without her parents she wanted to see Ron turn into a canary or even Percy giving the whole family a lecture on the thickness of cauldron bottoms.  
  
After an eternity they separated, Ginny feeling stronger and George returning the smile and slipping of the sill,  
  
"Good job you came Gin," he murmured, massaging his back, "I was starting to get a frozen arse,"  
  
She laughed nervously but it soon died away and was extinguished by the tension of the room. It was only a matter of time before someone mentioned the article and her money was on Ron.  
  
~*~  
  
It was an hour later and Harry had gone and come back with news of the details.  
  
Ginny really didn't want to hear it but she couldn't help it. It was like when you see a car crash. You know you're going to regret ever see it but there's something that keeps your eyes open.  
  
You're frozen just watching and when it does crash there's something horribly beautiful about the metal curling round.  
  
But then reality hits you like a sledgehammer and you realise that there are people in there.  
  
It was like that for Ginny. Harry went through all the detail and Charlie's grip tightened round her shoulder, as Harry went on listing the Deatheaters that had done it. Ginny was horrified to realise that there had been more than one Malfoy mentioned.  
  
She felt Hermione's shoulders heave as Harry went through the details, every last one, dutifully. Ginny wondered if he didn't really care about her parents but then she remembered that he deal-ed with this kind of thing everyday when she heard his voice falter at one point.  
  
Maybe it had got to him more than she previously thought.  
  
Harry had definitely changed from the skinny eleven-year-old boy she had first seen- he was stronger and tougher. He had seen things Ginny had no desire to and she wasn't jealous of it.  
  
Ron had crushed his plastic cup when he heard Draco Malfoy's name called out in the Deatheaters list, Hermione had gasped when she saw what was left of the house, Bill thumped the wall when he heard that they had been taken only three hours after they had all left after a dinner party.  
  
But at all this information Harry didn't even batter an eyelid or show any signs of emotion until he stopped. That's when it came, Charlie had moved over to the window by George and she felt Harry's hand on her arm, she looked up and saw a single tear roll down his cheek.  
  
~*~  
  
(Right- I'll pick it up tomorrow. I mean come on- five pages!!!  
  
Right here I am!!! The story continues!!!)  
  
~*~  
  
It had taken four hours for her head to get round the fact that her parents were really dead. She knew that Fred and George could act to save the country and all the way through she was expecting them to go "Got you!! HA!!! You should have seen your face!!"  
  
But that never came.  
  
It took all of them that time to figure it out that it would never come.  
  
After denial there was disbelieve (Oh my god, they're really dead! It just can't be true!!!) then, finally- anger.  
  
Ron was the one scaring her now, not George. George had even cracked a couple of half hearted jokes, though dark, and received more than a scowl from Ron.  
  
But the thing about Ron wasn't that he was quiet, quite the opposite. He was clenching and unclenching his fists, over and over again and the cracked plastic cups that littered the floor around him were nothing compared to the gaunt look in his eyes.  
  
More than their parents had died- he had, inside.  
  
~*~  
  
It was far to hot in this room now, everyone had removed as much clothing as possible and Harry had to keep his uniform on at all times so his jet black hair was sticking to his head.  
  
But they didn't open the window. No.  
  
They were punishing themselves for whatever part they played in the reason for their parents' murder.  
  
What little conversation there was had gone from "I can't believe it," or "There's really dead aren't they?" to "Remember when," That had been the worst for her and her promise to Harry about being strong. All she wanted to do is join Percy in his new bout of crying.  
  
"You,"  
  
That's what Ron had been muttering for the past thirty seconds. Nobody stopped him; they all had their own ways of dealing with things- however strange.  
  
But it had been getting louder every other time he said it. Hermione lifted her hand up to pat his back for what seemed the millionth time but he shrugged it away and went on kneading his forehead with the base of his palm.  
  
Hermione caught Harry's eye,  
  
"Look mate," he started, grabbing his friend's shoulders and shaking them slightly for a moment, "Don't blame yourself."  
  
But at the sound of this Ron just shook his head then stopped suddenly. His head snapped up and Ginny, who was sitting opposite him, got a clear view of his face for the first time today.  
  
His eyes were puffy, his cheeks covered in tear stains and he seemed all cried out. There were bags under his eyes and his hair was like a red haystack in then sense that it was sticking up all over the place.  
  
But through his tears Ginny could see he was looking straight at her,  
  
"You,"  
  
~*~  
  
"You and your BLOODY article," he yelled pacing up and down the room, never once taking his hatred filled eyes off her,  
  
"Don't you think I already know that," she whispered into her lap where she was wringing her hands over and over again.  
  
"It's all your fault Ginny!!!" he screamed but that didn't hurt as much compared to the fact that none of her brothers were coming to her defence. This had been going on for ten minutes and none of them had made one move to help her, Charlie's comforting arm round her shoulder's seemed like an age ago.  
  
"Ron." Hermione started making an attempt to guide him back to a seat, "You're upset, don't be stupid,"  
  
Ron took his eyes off her from one moment and faced Hermione,  
  
"I am NOT being stupid," he said in a voice that was just barely below a shout, he turned back around to face Ginny again.  
  
"She's not even crying," Ron spat and she saw Harry nervously bite his knuckle,  
  
"She's in shock Ron," he said standing up as well, "Leave her alone,"  
  
But Ron didn't hear him or chose not to,  
  
"She doesn't even miss them,"  
  
That one hurt.  
  
Ginny had just been taking and taking these insults and then she just snapped, her brothers didn't help her and the only ones who did weren't even family,  
  
"What did you say?" she asked dangerously though not loudly like her brother, but everyone heard,  
  
He didn't repeat himself- he just gritted his teeth obviously realising that he had over-stepped the line but not wanted to admit it. Ron = stubborn.  
  
"You heard me," he replied at last. Still no one came to either parties help or defence instead they watched from the sidelines,  
  
She narrowed her eyes at him- he was so predictable. Whenever something went wrong he blamed the nearest and easiest thing and in this situation it was she.  
  
Placing her hand on her waist she took a step forward,  
  
"You blame me don't you," she asked still using the same tone as before.  
  
Ron took a step forward closer to her and away from Hermione and Harry,  
  
"Yes," he hissed severely.  
  
That was all he said, he didn't need to say 'We all do' because no one came to rescue even then. That wasn't fair.  
  
Ron gave her one last satisfied glance before turning away to get another glass of water,  
  
"It wasn't just the article Ron," she called over to him, blood pounding in her ears making her voice rise just so she could hear herself. He stopped walking so she took this as a cue to go on,  
  
"Percy's Minister of Magic they could be trying to make him quit or something, Harry's an Auror and Mum and Dad were close to him- they're telling him something and," she had said all this very fast.  
  
There were loads more reasons now she thought about it. Loads not including the hatred that the Malfoy's felt for every single Weasley.  
  
"It probably wasn't helped by Fred and George sending Draco Malfoy a Valentine,"  
  
She heard Fred and George suppress sniggers in the corner but apart from that no one made a sound. They all still blamed her,  
  
"Fine," she spat, grabbing her jumper she walked back across the room and out onto the barren corridor- slamming the door behind her.  
  
No one came out to say they didn't blame her, not a word of comfort. Nothing.  
  
But if it wasn't for the silencing charm on Harry's room, she would have Charlie and Bill yelling at Ron and if she hadn't ran off she wouldn't seen Harry looking for her outside,  
  
~*~  
  
Ok eight pages- and I have still got to go back to present time. Now cast you're mind back to Chapter Five and this is a little bit from that bit  
  
~*~  
  
~*~ END FLASHBACK~*~  
  
"Oi Paige,"  
  
She sat up looking around. She was sitting at a dinner table with 'James' (coughHARRYcough) eating something that she made earlier, lasagne, which, she had to admit, was pretty good.  
  
"What happened?" she asked picked up her fork and wiping all the food off the handle on a napkin, how the food got there she had no idea,  
  
"You went into ANOTHER daydream," he replied amused returning to his food and stabbing some of the salad on the side, "You even dropped your fork and didn't wake up,"  
  
Smiling sheepishly, she tried her best to keep her blush down, and shrugged,  
  
"It always happens," she looked up and found him staring at her. It was strange, especially with those brown eyes but she thought nothing of it.  
  
That is, until she got into her bathroom and checked her appearance and noticed she had ginger roots coming through in her hair.  
~*~ Authors Note ~*~  
  
Was that long enough for you? Hope so because my ass is numb. Thought I'd leave the little 'ginger roots' thing in cos this needs to pick up a little pace.  
  
When the next chapter is posted I'll merge five and this one together.  
  
And do I have to say it again? If you want an update e-mail leave your name in your review because, you've guessed it, my outlook express doesn't work.  
  
See that little box? Yeah, the blue one! Uh-huh, click it and make me happy. That's right happiness doesn't cost anything!!!  
  
Just follow the arrow!!  
  
: : : : : : : : : : : : ; \ / | 


	7. Chapter 7 ps crap

Disclaimer- Yeah, like I'd be smart enough to think of Harry Potter but the plot (cough cough) is actually mine.  
  
SMALL authors note:  
  
It has come to my attention that a couple of people have a small dislike for Ron in this story (they want his guts to string a tennis bat), which is a shame. He was hurt and insecure- so he lashed out and, well, would you mess with Ron when he was in that kind of mood?  
  
So, you have got to like him soon because he may be coming back. What do you think? Should he?  
  
Again- WHO WOULD LIKE AN UPDATE E-MAIL INFORMING YOU OF CHAPTER UPDATES? C'MON!!! I MADE A NEW FOLDER JUST FOR YOU GUYS!!!! IF YOU DO, LEAVE YOUR ADDRESS IN YOUR REVIEW AND SAY SOMETHING ALONG THE LINES OF 'SURE, I'D LIKE ONE!!!' THANK YOU.  
  
Chapter 7:  
  
"It always happens," she looked up and found him staring at her. It was strange, especially with those brown eyes but she thought nothing of it.  
  
That is, until she got into her bathroom and checked her appearance and noticed she had ginger roots coming through in her hair.  
  
Well, that explained the staring anyway. But luckily she had come prepared. Bending down and opening her bathroom cupboard, she looked for the bottle of black hair dye she had brought a couple of days ago.  
  
It wasn't there.  
  
She didn't need this aggravation so soon after Christmas.  
  
"Crap," she muttered going down on her hands and knees and searched in the cupboard underneath her sink. Knocking over more than one bottle and container, she found it.  
  
It was hiding behind a tub of soap and knocked on its side.  
  
She wrenched the cap off and hurriedly started running the bath just hoping that here was still some hot water left.  
  
~*~  
  
"So how's business in the Law?"  
  
She had been dreading this question for a while now. Harry was already suspicious about the ginger hair, the way she took her coffee and the fact she kept pausing before she spoke. She still had to remind herself to call him James- not Harry.  
  
"Err," she began cleverly searching the floor for any ideas,  
  
Her real job was a journalist for the muggle magazine. The only reason she hadn't changed her job was that she was pretty sure that he didn't read 'Cosmo Girl'. At least, she hoped not.  
  
"Just.err.great thanks,"  
  
He nodded unimpressed as he turned the page of some muggle newspaper,  
  
"Uh-huh," he said looking over the top of it fixing his eyes on her.  
  
Annoyingly, she noticed that the corners were creased- he was laughing at her.  
  
At her.  
  
"What?" she asked, throwing a magazine on the coffee table and glaring at him even though the laughter lines around his eyes had dissolved and he was obviously engrossed by a article.  
  
Her only consolation was that she could just pick herself up and walk into her room if there was so much of a sign that he was winning any argument.  
  
It wasn't like he could just barge in there like her brothers used to when she tried this trick on them. But then if he did, turning him into a sheep might blow her cover.  
  
"It's just," he said slowly, finishing the end of the sentence he was reading, "You never say much about your life outside your room,"  
  
That one stung. She didn't want to mix her life at work with her life her. Simple but she wasn't going to tell him that.  
  
He had even gone back to his paper not waiting for an answer.  
  
"Neither do you," she retorted,  
  
"Ah touché," he replied, flicking his eyes up at her. Those lines around his eyes were back but she didn't do anything about except to stand up and get her self a mug of coffee and not offering to get him one.  
  
~*~  
  
"So," she said, settling herself into the old couch opposite his chair, "How's life in the BANK business,"  
  
He had told her he worked at NatWest (a bank where my mum works!!! LOL!!! I get 50p every time I say that!!! Hee Hee!!! There is another way!!!) Which was a load of shit really.  
  
He was bored out of his mind in an Auror office dealing with Dark Magic and Deatheaters. He would have killed himself within a week in a muggle bank dealing with the savings accounts of ten-year olds and pension plans for the over seventies.  
  
His eyes flicked up but this time not looking amused but slightly panicked,  
  
"Fine," he stated, "Never been a better time to be a.banker,"  
  
She was really temped to say *coughBULLSHITcough* but she really didn't need to be on the streets homeless.  
  
"Uh-huh," she copied from before, flicking a page over on the magazine she picked up again off the table.  
  
"So," he said, his tone normal now, "When are you going back to work?"  
  
Fair question. It was the 29th today (A/N: sorry- again- but I thought I'd mention that Dec 29th is my b.day!!! HaHa!!!) And she went back on the third of January.  
  
Five more days of relaxation and that was it, back to work. Well, if London is anything like Manchester, it would just be sitting in a chair 9am-4pm and occasionally interviewing some muggle teen-age pop star.  
  
"I go back on the third,"  
  
He nodded, again engrossed in the paper. How can the 'Financial Times' be so interesting?  
  
"And you?"  
  
"Same,"  
  
Why was she putting up with this? Was he incapable of any word involving more than two syllabubs when face with a page of writing and a conversation?  
  
Standing up with a start, she gave him a deadeye and stalked over to her room making sure she slammed the door behind her.  
  
Now she had nothing to do now.  
  
This was his entire fault. She had forgotten how annoying he could be when he got into the mood- he had been living with Ron too long.  
  
~*~  
  
30th December  
  
Paige didn't know anyone in London- except Harry of course. And, she supposed, Ron and Hermione as well but she didn't really want to see either of them.  
  
But it looked like Harry was in contact with them either. He had no owl and in his address book he had no phone or address of his or hers.  
  
She never hated Ron or Hermione but it was almost certain that at least Ron hated her. From time to time, she would wonder where they were, what they were doing whether Ron was still incapable of washing his own clothes.  
  
Harry was talking to her now,  
  
"Have you got any family?"  
  
She tucked a couple of strands of hair behind her ear and looked up at him. He seemed genuinely interested but what was she going to say?  
  
"I did," she began, choosing her words carefully, "My parent died a couple of years ago,"  
  
No recognition in his eyes or in behaviour, it wasn't that uncommon for people's relatives to die,  
  
"Sorry," he said after a moment, "I never knew mine so I can kind of relate,"  
  
She'd know that he was an orphan almost all her life but Paige didn't,  
  
"Oh," she said trying to look like this was new information "Sorry as well,"  
  
"Don't be," he replied tonelessly "I never knew them,"  
  
He stabbed a piece of pasta on his plate as he said this. Ginny knew it wasn't because of her, or at least she hoped so.  
  
They sat in silence; the only sounds were the pigeons cooing on the fire escape and the boiler filling up again after her bath. Just as she put some pasta in her mouth Harry asked her,  
  
"Any brothers or sisters?"  
  
She had to chew for a while so giving herself some time to think of an answer. Her being an only child would be too convenient,  
  
"One brother," she said after swallowing the food in her mouth, "But we don't get along any more,"  
  
Why? Oh why was she cursed with no brains?  
  
She dared a glance up at her roommate; he was starching his cheek and looking thoughtfully up at the ceiling,  
  
"Let me guess," he said, with his eyes still fixed at the ceiling, "He blames you for their death,"  
  
She grinned sheepishly though really she was relived- he had given her an escape,  
  
"Yeah, something like that,"  
  
Again, they sat in silence but unlike the last one, this felt unnatural as if he had questions that he knew better not to ask.  
  
His eyes went straight from the ceiling down to his plate. She had discovered that he couldn't cook to save his life. At least he was honest about it- on the first day he had mentioned that baked beans, toast and pot noodles were about all he could do.  
  
"Doing anything for new year?"  
  
He had woken her up out of a day dream- again,  
  
"Er no actually," she answered felling like a social retard, "I only know you, the pizza delivery guy and that old lady next door in this area,"  
  
Instead of laughing, he gave an understanding smile,  
  
"I know the feeling,"  
  
That figured seeing as the only people he knew well lived about thirty miles away and it seemed they weren't on the best of terms.  
  
But Harry, at least she hoped, he had friends at work. He was likable and didn't seem like he had been alone for two years without a friends or- girlfriends.  
  
"How bout' you?" she said for no reason except to get his stare off her, "Any parties planned?"  
  
This time he laughed. Placing his cutlery carefully, and slowly, down on his plate before he responded to her question,  
  
"Couple of invitations, but I have a feeling that everyone will be getting stoned,"  
  
"Ah," she commented "Small problem,"  
  
"Kind of,"  
  
They stared at each other for a moment before Ginny realised she had finished her meal and it was just lying there.  
  
Standing up and picking up her plate, she walked over to the sink painfully aware that Harry was watching her all the way.  
  
The rubber ends of the chair screeched on the wooden floor as Harry stood up and walked over to her by the sink.  
  
"Do you want to head up to Trafalgar Square together tomorrow evening?"  
  
Ginny shook her head- she hadn't heard right.  
  
Harry had just asked, however tentatively, her if she wanted to spent new years with him.  
  
"Oh," he stuttered, obviously taken aback "Ok, thought I'd ask anyways,"  
  
"No," she interrupted, "I mean- I'd love to. I've never been to Trafalgar on new years."  
  
A smile broke out over his face waking his eyes light up- even behind his contacts.  
  
"It's interesting," he joked, "Just be prepared for some alcohol and a late night,"  
  
With one last boyish grin, left his plate on the side, he walked off out of the room and sliding into the living room.  
  
She was so happy that she finally had somewhere to go at night instead of being indoors with nothing to do except watching muggle children's Christmas films. She was so happy in fact that that she didn't realise Harry had left her plate for her to wash up until she heard his bedroom door bang shut.  
  
Authors Note:  
  
Crap!!! Crap!!! Crap!!! Crap!!! Crap!!! Crap!!! Crap!!! Crap!!! Crap!!! Crap!!! Crap!!! Crap!!! Crap!!! Crap!!! Crap!!! Crap!!! Crap!!! Crap!!! Crap!!! Crap!!! Crap!!! Crap!!! Crap!!! Crap!!! Crap!!! Crap!!! Crap!!! Crap!!! Crap!!! Crap!!! Crap!!! Crap!!! Crap!!! Crap!!! Crap!!! Crap!!! Crap!!! Crap!!! Crap!!! Crap!!! Crap!!! Crap!!! Crap!!! Crap!!! Crap!!! Crap!!! Crap!!! Crap!!! Crap!!! Crap!!! Crap!!! Crap!!! Crap!!! Crap!!! Crap!!! Crap!!! Crap!!! Crap!!! Crap!!! Crap!!!  
  
That's what my stories are.  
  
Anyway, I don't suppose any one that reads this fic comes from the UK or Ireland and has seen the Comic Relief advert. If you have- this will not make sense to anyone else- HA! Did you see Trevor as Malfoy?  
  
Also- no one complain about this being short- I know I didn't descried ANYTHING- it's six pages long. 


	8. 3! 2! 1 what the

Disclaimer- Yeah, like I'd be smart enough to think of Harry Potter but the plot (cough cough) is actually mine.  
  
Authors Note: This is going to, I think, take an unexpected twist and people may not like it. Still going to be Harry & Ginny though.  
  
Also, just seen Comic Relief Night with a Harry Potter spoof- did you see Hagrid!!! Hee Hee- there's about two people who understand that and I suppose all the rest of you are wondering about my sanity.  
  
Does anyone watch Cold Feet here? *Sniffle* Rachel.  
  
As you may have guessed my life consists of Harry Potter, television and the odd bit of cheeryade. Not a healthy combination.  
  
Thank you everyone who reviewed. This'll sound crude but more reviews=more updates. Oh yeah, I meant to say- the last chapter just WOULD NOT FLOW. This chapter is way better.  
  
This chapter is kind of short though but ACTION PACKED!!! YEAH BABY!!!  
  
Note: Any crap romance I apologize for right now. I hope I didn't give anything away!  
  
Chapter 8: 5...4.3.2.what the?  
  
"C'mon Paige!"  
  
Knocking on the door as fast and as hard as he could, he yelled to the person in the room that had used all the hot water. He didn't do cold showers until now.  
  
His roommate was in her bedroom taking what seemed forever to get ready to go out. She had been in there since, well, she had never came out that day. On the day of the Yule ball, just under ten years ago (Harry being 24 and Ginny 23), he remembered Hermione going off a couple of hours earlier.  
  
But all day?  
  
Patience was not one of Harry's virtues.  
  
"Paige," he yelled hoarsely at the door, "It's gone seven- do you have any idea what London traffic is like?"  
  
"No,"  
  
Paige's voice came floating through the door, slightly muffled, but totally relaxed despite his hour-long attempt to get her to come out of her room, "Enlighten me,"  
  
He pushed his fingers through his hoar for the tenth time making it stand up more than it usually did- quite an achievement. It had been a long time since he had lost his temper and if this kept up he was going to loss it again.  
  
Kicking the door in exasperation, he called out to her one more time,  
  
"I'm going go without you,"  
  
A giggle reached his ears as he pressed his forehead against her door.  
  
"You do that then,"  
  
Now he was really glad that controlling your anger had been part of basic Auror training but even he couldn't help a kick of the door.  
  
"I mean it," he said exasperated,  
  
"Of course you do,"  
  
He didn't know what she was doing in there but anything could not take this long. Battles had been started and finished in this time, Quiddich matches had been over in this stretch so why was he still out here?  
  
"Paige!" his voice rising unnaturally,  
  
He slid down the wall and decided to wait here. It was better than standing up and losing his voice.  
  
"Yes?"  
  
He didn't time to reply because the buzzer on his intercom went. Shooting her door with one last glare, he stood up and walked, he had shoes on and therefore couldn't *slide*, and answered the call,  
  
"Hello?"  
  
On the other end he heard someone sniff loudly before answering,  
  
"James Redwood?"  
  
"That's me,"  
  
The person downstairs coughed for a few moments,  
  
"Taxi,"  
  
It was due to come at half seven but according to Harry's watch it was only.  
  
"EIGHT!"  
  
"Yea, sorry about that mate- traffic was a nightmare,"  
  
They were later than he thought,  
  
"Excuse me would you,"  
  
He strode across the apartment determinedly, leaving the man down stairs to mutter about how he doesn't have all day, jumped over the couch and banged on Paige's door,  
  
"I hate to interrupt you Majesty," he spoke into the door, his voice oozing with sarcasm and faked calmness, "but the TAXI is here,"  
  
He heard a cross sigh and the sound of a couple of cases being knocked about,  
  
"I'm coming, Jesus"  
  
Harry walked back over to the door and grabbed his jacket muttering something along the lines of 'Finally' and waited by the door. Leaning on the wall he checked he had his wand with him and looked in his reflection in the mirror on the opposite wall. Eyes still were brown and his scar, well; so long as it didn't rain he'd be fine.  
  
"PAI."  
  
The door opposite him creaked open and left Harry speechless mid sentence. Now he understood why she had been in there all day- the only exception was to demand a cup of coffee and all he saw then was a hand and half of her forearm before the cup was snatched away.  
  
Over the week he had know her, her hair was always up but now, she had it curled slightly and had little white things stuck in here and there like blossom.  
  
She was wearing a knee length, sliver dress with spaghetti straps that seemed to be made out of liquid as it flowed around her knees.  
  
He didn't realise he was staring until Paige's voice interrupted his daydream,  
  
"Damn it we're out of washing up liquid,"  
  
Rolling his eyes he joined her in the kitchen were the sound of doors being opened hastily then slammed shut- each time an exasperated sigh followed the bang. Of all the times to wash up, this was not one of them,  
  
"Surely not," he commented leaning on the doorframe and looking on at the scene in his kitchen with amusement "-not with 20% extra bubbles"  
  
She stooped momentarily to narrow her eyes at him before continuing on her search making even more noise than she did before.  
  
He sighed and walked over to her. Just as she was opening another cupboard next to the window he held it shut. He looked up at him and for the first time he noticed that she wasn't that short,  
  
"We have got to go," he said slowly, pointing at the clock that now read five minutes past eight, as he held her wrist and moved her hand from the handle and away from any cupboards.  
  
She just looked up at him, not moving or speaking, and Harry became painfully aware that he was still holding her hand.  
  
"Hello?"  
  
The voice of a now irritated taxi-driver floated into the kitchen and woke him up. He dragged her out of the small kitchen into the hallway where he answered the telecom while Paige silently pulled her jacket on.  
  
"Yeah we're coming," and he disconnected before anymore moaning could be cut off there.  
  
Paige was now checking her appearance in front of the hall mirror, Harry raked his fingers through his hair- not helping the fact it was already messy.  
  
He slid the bolt back on the door and he opened it soundlessly and waited- just wondering how long it would take for Paige to wake up.  
  
~*~  
  
Just under half an hour later, Harry and Paige sat in the motionless taxi in the sea of cars all of them honking for the traffic lights to change.  
  
It had been a while since either one of them had spoke, they had run out polite conversation a while ago so now the alone sounds to be heard were the drivers cursing and the honks of other cars. Harry was sitting in the little pull down chair while Paige took up all of the seats in the back with herself and her small bag.  
  
She huffed and turned to look out of the window thought it was dark outside. He could see the yellow glow of the streetlights reflecting on her face as she scowled at all the other drivers around them like this was their entire fault.  
  
He glanced at his watch, it was half past eight and they should be there. He was supposed to go there strictly for work- there had been almost no attacks over the past two months. Somebody was planning something big and with such a small space with a high concentration of Muggle's. It was such an easy and irresistible target for Deatheaters that a group of Aurors were assigned to watch for any suspicious behaviour.  
  
So instead of going Billy-no-mates like he was used to for the past two years, he took the most pleasant route for himself and invited his roommate.  
  
The light on her face went from a soft yellow to a green and the taxi started with a jolt sending Paige flying forward into his lap.  
  
Stunned for a moment, he didn't move for a second just looked at her until he woke up when she was trying to haul herself up. He took her arms in hands and helped her back into her seat and she gave him an appreciative smile and look back outside.  
  
Harry couldn't help but notice the colour rising in her cheeks.  
  
~*~  
  
The atmosphere was contagious here.  
  
Everyone was smiling, dancing and having a good and over the sound of music rings of laughter could be heard. He had a grin on his face as he sipped on a bottle of Budweiser as he watched the crowds as lights flashed revealing a different scene every time.  
  
A Deatheater would stand out like a sore thumb here. He doubted if any of them ever took Muggle Studies and knew what a 'Pop Band' was. He was hoped rather then believed all of this but it had been an excuse to get him out of the house.  
  
Paige had disappeared into the crowds a couple of minutes ago and hadn't come back yet. He scanned the crowds, now cursing the strobe lighting, but still saw no sign of her dark brown- almost black hair. It was, he thought, kind of stupid to look for black hair in the middle of the night.  
  
The music had now finished only to be replaced by some D.J's voice announcing that it was only forty-five more minutes until the New Year. Flashes of the New Year celebrations in Australia, Italy, Greece and more places around the world played on the massive windscreen surrounding the stage.  
  
Taking a long draft out of his bottle he placed the now empty beer on the bar and rooted around in his pockets for his wand.  
  
Midnight, if any time, was when the Deatheaters were most likely to attack.  
  
Unconsciously he glanced over the mass of people now filling up the square. His gaze rested on the muggle police standing around the statues of Nelson and Queen Victoria keeping the people from climbing on them.  
  
'You'll have bigger problems later on mate,' he couldn't help thinking as he followed an officer take a very drunk man into a police car with his eyes. What a way to spend new years- filling a report on the drinking habits of the average under twenty-one year old.  
  
As his eyes watched the car drive away, minus the siren he noticed, he saw a flash of white blonde hair and he stood up. It could be nothing but he had been told to follow anything remotely unusual and there was only one person that he knew with hair like that- muggle or wizard- Malfoy.  
  
He stalked of over to the place where he had saw him last and just as he came round the corner he saw the back of this persons head. He followed the person for a while, taking care not to be seen, but still had no sign of their face.  
  
Then suddenly they just disappeared into thin air. Harry stood on the spot just looking around dumbfounded- vaguely aware that a voice was saying it was only half an hour until the New Year and the music started up again. This made things harder as people streamed out of nowhere to what just looked like jumping up and down.  
  
Kicking a can angrily he looked around for any sign of some one he knew. He spotted someone standing in the shadows of a statue and recognised it as a colleague from work- Mark.  
  
He walked over to him inconspicuously and leaned against the wall with him.  
  
They glanced at each other.  
  
"You've got brown hair tonight," he stated eyeing Harry's hair with a grin. He usually changed his hair from brown to dirty blonde before he got to work. He couldn't do magic at home, Voldemort had been joined to him through each other's wands back in his forth year and now if Harry didn't any magic alone Voldemort could feel it. Trace him.  
  
It was the same with Harry, he knew whenever Voldemort killed anyone or was planning it. Time went on and it turned out Voldemort was back to getting other people to do his dirty work.  
  
But Mark didn't know any of this. The reason why Harry was such a good friend with him was because he was a student form Drumstrang- he didn't have a clear mental image of Harry Potter.  
  
He glanced up and down Mark who just looked like a very smartly dressed Muggle with a white shirt with the top couple of buttons undone- no doubt his tie was stuffed in his pocket- black trousers and a black jacket thrown on the floor on top of some unused barricades.  
  
Harry didn't say anything only looked at him wondering if that last comment of Mark's was even worth saying.  
  
"Point taken," Mark said looking back onto the square. He had a pretty good vantage spot, he could see almost all of the crowds with only a couple of blind spots where several tents were placed that served food.  
  
"How long have you been here?"  
  
Whenever they were on duty at work together, their talk was almost always to ease their nerves with a joke but there was something different about tonight- it was strictly business. Harry knew that Mark was Muggle born and any attack tonight would almost certainly strike a nerve as his family lived in the suburbs.  
  
"A couple of hours,"  
  
Mark must have seen the surprised look on his face as Harry heard this,  
  
"Just can't feel anything below my knee caps though,"  
  
Harry grinned, realising that he hadn't smiled for a while. The air had changed, it was colder and the weather was moodier. Even the Muggle music had stopped and gone into a sort of slower beat for the countdowns build up.  
  
"Seen anything?" he asked  
  
It was Harry's turn to talk but unusually he didn't want to joke. He still hadn't found Paige and if there was an attack. He still didn't know if Voldemort knew about his disguise and if he even got a whiff of him having a roommate.  
  
"No," came his partners curt reply sensing Harry's agitation, "You?"  
  
Harry thought about the best way to put this without sounding like he was making a mountain out of a molehill,  
  
"I think Malfoy junior may been checking out the sights of London,"  
  
Silence from the person standing next to him, everyone knew about Draco Malfoy and whether the rumours were true or not- him possibly being here wasn't good.  
  
"Ah,"  
  
"Exactly,"  
  
When no more came from his partner, Harry's eyes looked around for Paige and strangely he found her.  
  
She was dancing with some muggle boy with her arms round his neck and smiling up at him. He had his arms round her waist and holding her close and dancing with her to the beat, he felt something in his chest go as he saw this scene in unreal closeness.  
  
His fists clenched as he realised he was jealous. But there was something different about Paige- she reminded him of Ginny. It was an impossible coincidence that she almost had the same history as Ginny. Bu Ginny wasn't stupid enough to reveal herself after all these years.  
  
He could just hearing things but her laugh made him dizzy with memory.  
  
"Five more minutes James," his friends voice brought him back to reality and he tore his eyes off her and onto him, "Do you think we're here for no reason?"  
  
Harry didn't even have to think twice about his answer- it just slipped out of his mouth before he could stop it,  
  
"No," he said firmly his eyes once again returning to the perfect party below them. "I don't,"  
  
Mark seemed slightly taken a back by this but didn't question it for a moment,  
  
"Why?"  
  
"I don't know," he answered still searching for any sign of blonde hair but it was like looking for a needle in a haystack. His eyes rested on Paige again that was a standing alone sending a glare at someone walking away from her.  
  
Then he left his friends without another word and set off down the slope and onto the square to find Paige. To his revile the crowd seemed to be thinning out- it seemed about half of the people were going onto their friends shoulders.  
  
He spotted her standing alone looking slightly nervous and looking around for someone, and he noticed how her face brightened up when she saw him.  
  
"Oh my god where the hell were you?" was his greeting, he smiled wearily at her question.  
  
"Looking for you," he answered with a little white lie- it wasn't completely right nor was it completely wrong.  
  
There was an eerie silence between them as Harry glanced up at the stage and saw that there were huge numbers either side were counting down from twenty.  
  
From ten.  
  
He couldn't help it; he had to smile at the sight of everyone having a good time. The threat of an attack now out of his mind because he was back in the crowd and away from any remainder- such as Mark.  
  
"Nine!"  
  
Paige was yelling with the people as the giant clock on the screen went down with agonising slowness.  
  
"Eight!"  
  
Something in the air caught his eye.  
  
"Seven!"  
  
It didn't come back. It was probably a pigeon- they had nowhere to go no that they had been evicted by the masses of people.  
  
"Six!"  
  
He dismissed the idea of a broomstick.  
  
"FIVE!"  
  
The crowd was getting louder with anticipation and he was getting some funny look with just standing there from Paige,  
  
"C'mon" she hollered over the deafening four that blasted out of the loudspeakers and smiled at him, grabbing his hand. Harry felt her relax and drew her closer, fighting the urge to kiss her as she moulded into the contours of his body.  
  
"THREE"  
  
Harry couldn't help feeling excited and joined in now and compared to last years new years eve this was a dream.  
  
"TWO!"  
  
He faced Paige and grinned not knowing how the hell they we going to get home,  
  
"ONE!"  
  
He didn't hear the crowds roaring and the fireworks going off. He didn't hear the screams of joy being replaced by screams of terror as he leaned forward and cupped Paige's face in his hands kissed her on the lips.  
  
He had no idea why he was doing this. He didn't want Paige- she was just a replacement for Ginny and he knew he would feel bad about it later on.  
  
That was just a small voice in his head; the other, and much larger, voice was urging him to go on.  
  
She didn't respond for a moment before she wrapped her arms around his neck deepening the kiss. Harry ran his hands through her silky hair, drawing her closer to him.  
  
He would have stayed there, just with her, if it wasn't until he saw her eyes widening with horror and pushed him away.  
  
She had her hand on her mouth and for one horrible moment he thought she regretted it but she was looking behind him- skywards.  
  
Spinning round, he looked up at the sky and felt a spasm of terror jolt through his scar as he clutched it- his eyes still fixed on the heavens.  
  
It seemed that the Dark Mark floating above the stage, which was now lightless and lifeless, transfixed both him and Paige.  
  
"Oh crap,"  
  
Authors Note:  
  
I like the word crap- that's a future warning people. One more thing- do you think this could pass for a drama? And has anyone noticed I haven't put any comments half way through? I was SO tempted sometimes!!!  
  
Two words people  
  
*Cue scary music*MUHAHAHAHAHAHAHA Review  
  
I'm going to get my assed kicked for this though but- support COMIC RELIEF 


	9. That sure ain't in the mannual

Disclaimer- Yeah, like I'd be smart enough to think of Harry Potter but the plot (cough cough) is actually mine.  
  
Thanks to:  
  
GryffindorBabe (did you see the Eastenders spoof?!), Blue eyes (as you wish.), Silver Witch (please don't hurt me), hpdancer92 (I had to stop it there- I have to catch a bus at 7:45 and I needed to sleep), Pudadingding (I dunno why), Punkin (glad you liked it), patipati22 (calm down- you're making me dizzy), telmea (all will be relieved in good time my friend AND THAT GOES FOR ALL OF YOU- QUIT ASKING WHEN Harry WILL FIND OUT) marauder- boy (yes- I'm not the only one!!!), Wytil (thank-you), The Elvish Vampiress (I LURVE your name), g-i-n-n-y (take a chill pill), sonu (I did but now I don't need one!!!), This is not crap (nice name), xLunarChaserx (I intend to), Herbie and last but not least: Rachelfan5000 (you missed some good laughs my child)  
  
These are the people who reviewed chapter's 7 & 8 so far. As for the rest of you.  
  
This doesn't have that much of Ginny but a hell of a lot of Harry action.  
  
Chapter 9: That sure Ain't in the programme  
  
Somebody gasped behind him, waking him up; this was no place for Paige to be. Ripping his eyes off the floating image in the sky, he turned and grabbed Paige's arms making her look at him,  
  
"Go," he yelled over the terrified screams of the crowds, "Take a bus, a cab- anything!"  
  
Ramming a twenty-pound note in her hand and he watched in dismay as she didn't react just looked at the note then at him.  
  
"Go!" he repeated, glancing around looking for some sign of his partner, "Just don't walk and, and, just don't go down any dark alleys,"  
  
All of the colour in her face had long gone, she was blinking slowly and unlike every one around them, still and silent. She was shell-shocked.  
  
Some people freeze when they are frightened, other run around like headless chickens screaming and others just walk out calmly and leave the scene.  
  
It looked like Paige was number one.  
  
He didn't know how to wake her up. Some one came running past with blood pouring freely from his temple and Harry was about to help him when Paige's voice came out quietly,  
  
"Ok, taxi or bus,"  
  
He wheeled around and half pushed, half led her to the bar he had started the night in. It was on the edge of the square where it wasn't as crowded as everyone was trying to find their friends and family.  
  
"GO!" he urged dragging her to the curb and whistling for a cab and waiting for her to snap out of this trance. He had no time. If anyone found out that he spent all this time on her instead of going straight there he was in for an ass whooping.  
  
A taxi pulled up on the curb, the driver oblivious on what was going on less than half a mile away. Paige climbed in slowly, and shuffling over on the seat obviously expecting him to follow.  
  
When he slammed the door shut she seemed to wake up and she yanked the small window open,  
  
"Just what do you think you're doing?"  
  
Her head and shoulders were poking out of the window and all her previous quietness had evaporated to be replaced by a shout and a frown.  
  
He grinned- if only she knew what he was going to have to do.  
  
"I have to do something,"  
  
She opened her mouth to say something but Harry quickly banged the roof of the cab twice and it leapt off leaving Paige no choice but to look back at him with a dead eye that didn't quite cover up the worry.  
  
He didn't wait until she turned the corner, instead he turned into the mayhem that was the crowds of partygoers and brought out his wand.  
  
He could smell the magic in the air, after the weeks with no magic it wakened up his dull senses, and changed his hair into the blonde he wore to work. No received no odd stares, everyone was too preoccupied with their own world of troubles to be bothered by a man and a wooden stick.  
  
He also used the charm to hide his scar; if he was caught the last thing he wanted was for the make-up to rub off and for him to be faced with a horde of power-hungry Deatheaters.  
  
Fighting his way through the sea of panicked Muggle's; he headed towards the centre of the square and toward the stage.  
  
In the distance he could hear the sirens of the Muggle emergency services winding there way through the build up of traffic a simple bang had created. But Muggle's were obviously smarter than the Deatheaters thought, Muggle's have problems in their own world and if people are on edge they blow the smallest things out of proportion.  
  
It happened to be right for them to over react. It might have saved their lives.  
  
There hadn't been an attack for months, plenty of raids on the Aura's side of things but no attacks. That's why personnel had been placed here- it had been too peaceful too long.  
  
Finally he reached the stage, which was still lightless, but he kept to the shadows not wanting to present himself to the enemy. He made his way around via the now deserted stalls and various bars, all the time keeping himself in the shadows.  
  
He turned the corner and found a wand pointed in between his eyes and froze.  
"Jesus Redwood," came a sigh and the piece of wood was removed leaving a dent in his skin, "Do you have to do that?"  
  
Harry grinned.  
  
It was Mark and his other colleague Maria who had also had been assigned the seemingly safe New Years celebration. Maria returned the grin and returned her wand back into her pocket.  
  
Mark just let out a sigh and stuck his wand in his belt and shook his head at Harry,  
  
"Where have you been?" Maria asked zipping up a black, tight fitting jacket she had just slipped on. Mark looked at her staring for a moment before he saw Harry smirking at him.  
  
But before Harry had time to answer Mark interrupted,  
  
"He was busy," he grinned winking at him, "I saw him,"  
  
Harry was glad that it was dark because a blush was rising into his cheeks. Maria just rolled her eyes at them both,  
  
"Unfortunate timing," she commented looking at Mark smiling like it was some kind of inside joke between them,  
  
"Is there anyone else here?" Harry questioned, the looks between them getting the better of him not for the first time, "I thought I saw Dunst earlier on,"  
  
"No," replied Mark dusting off a similar jacket to Maria's, "I'll tell you later,"  
  
He threw a jacket to Harry how just looked at it taking him a moment to remember why he was here. He slipped on the dragon hide jacket leaving his old one on the floor behind a bin.  
  
"Repels almost all spells and curses," Mark noted seeing Harry's quizzical "Load of shit really but looks nice on Maria,"  
  
Harry knew better than to smile.  
  
"The Deatheaters are on the stage and around the area that surrounds it," Maria stated, addressing Harry and not Mark, "We need to come from behind and one of us from the front,"  
  
They stood in silence for a moment before Harry broke the silence,  
  
"How many are there?"  
  
More silence,  
  
"I don't know," was the only reply, "I've counted three so that means five,"  
  
Harry stared thoughtfully at the stage, they were well hidden where they were at the moment, in between two stalls but as soon as they stepped out if they weren't careful they would be seen.  
  
"What about the Muggle services?"  
  
That one came from Mark, Maria was their superior so all questions were directed at her because she had all the answers. Harry saw her smile,  
  
"We've got ten minutes at the least," she said grinning, "There's going to be an unfortunate accident involving a couple of diggers and a hot dog vender,"  
  
Instead of laughing like Mark, Harry nervously checked his watch. Usually they would joke about and make the situation lighter but the fact that their had been people on that stage worried Harry.  
  
Mark must have been having the same train of thoughts,  
  
"Do you think it was a hit and run?"  
  
Maria's brow crinkled in thought,  
  
"Only one way to find out,"  
  
~*~  
  
He was sure that any Deatheaters for miles could here his heartbeat.  
  
It was up in his throat beating away like mad and he could swear he wasn't the only one that could hear it. He was the one who had volunteered to go around the front whilst Mark and Maria took the back route.  
  
He had found his way onto the stage and what seemed to be the electronics centre where all the lights, sounds and effects were controlled.  
  
"Lumos," he muttered lighting up a small area in front of him as he swung it around but keeping it low so not to be seen. The thin beam lit up various switches and buttons none of which he understood and he made his way to the back of the room.  
  
The room, even in this darkness, he could tell it was longish but rectangular and on one side he supposed was that kind of darkened glass. As he came to the back, he saw a small case stuck on the wall with its cover ripped of and thrown off to the sides.  
  
It was the mains.  
  
He warily inspected it. The cover had been thrown away anywhere and the red piece of discarded plastic was now under a chair. It was simple enough to operate.  
  
A key still remained in the lock and it was turned to off. Harry reached forward gingerly, slightly on edge now because of the fact that he hadn't seen anything, and turned the key to the left.  
  
Almost at once a slight humming started and the whole place was illuminated but he didn't have chance to look around. As soon as the lights came on, the windows to the right of him smashed, showering him in bits of glass as he tried to shield himself.  
  
Curses and spells ricocheted all over the room and Harry gave as good as he got. He didn't know what spells he sent out it were his reactions controlling him.  
  
The dust settled leaving the worst scene Harry had been in for a couple of years.  
  
It looked like all but two of the Deatheaters had been stunned, disarmed or knocked unconscious- their bodies littered the stage and one of them hung over through the window.  
  
In the centre of the stage stood Maria and to his horror, Draco Malfoy pinning her to his side and his wand pointed just above ear.  
  
Harry had his wand pointed at the second Deatheater who was pointing his at Mark. Mark had his aimed at Draco and even from this distance Harry could see that he was sending the Deatheater opposite him death glares.  
  
"Put your wand down," Harry commanded the Deatheater opposite him, who looked at Draco before crouching down slowly and letting it go. He was surprised that they had enough presence of mind not to just let it go from a height, if he had then the sudden movement would set of a whole load of reactions and he be dead before his wand hit the floor.  
  
"My, my," came a leer, "What a situation we have here,"  
  
Harry chanced a look at Draco Malfoy, who had an ugly sneer plastered all over his face. Maria was looking at Mark and telling him not to do any thing stupid with her eyes.  
  
Mark had slowly made his way over to Harry, still not taking his eyes off Maria or the person holding her. This is what they had been afraid of, someone with nothing to lose taking risks undoubtedly ending up with someone's life lost. But he tried not to think of this.  
  
No one spoke.  
  
"Put her down Malfoy," he yelled, still not taking his eyes and wand of Deatheater number two. But their only response was a mirthless chuckle,  
  
"I have a request to make first,"  
  
Mark growled and was about to take a step forward when Harry held out his arm to stop him,  
  
"What do you want?" Mark spat, in the complete opposite tone your supposed to use to hostage taker. Maria was looking at him and pleading with her eyes for him to calm down,  
  
"Harry Potter," came the simple reply.  
  
Harry had set himself up for this moment for the past two years and he was just surprised now that it hadn't come earlier. He swallowed nervously realising that his cowardice could cost Maria her life.  
  
Again there was silence in the group and the only sounds were the humming of the lights and the peculiarly muffled sound of car horns.  
  
"He's in hiding Malfoy," came Marks reply, "I would have thought even you knew that,"  
  
Draco gritted his teeth and shrugged,  
  
"I guess this one will have to do as a replacement," he obviously picked up something between her and Mark and pushing his luck.  
  
This time Harry couldn't stop him, Mark had taken three strides closer to Malfoy before there was a flash of blue light and he was throw into the shadows either side of the stage. The sound of the groaning of metal reached their ears a second later.  
  
They didn't have much time now, he knew this as he caught Maria's eye. She was staring at the other Deatheater then at Draco over and over again. She was trying to tell him something but he couldn't figure out what she wanted.  
  
"Harry Potter," Draco repeated hoping that what had happened to Mark might scare him into telling him something, "Or do you want to join your friend?"  
  
Maria was now using her fingers to count down from five and when she got down to naught she moved her elbow slightly. That's when Harry got her drift and nodded once.  
  
She counted down from five again. It would look a little suspicious if he was looking at his partner all the time.  
  
As she reached two he commented,  
  
"Have you tried Blackpool? I hear the weather nice this time of year,"  
  
Draco didn't have time to react. Maria had reached naught on her count down and just as Harry stunned the other Deatheater she elbowed him in the groin before twisting his arm behind his back.  
  
Harry walked over to him and allowed himself to grin,  
  
"Congelo!" he roared directing his wand at Draco's chest and a second later he was slumped on the floor motionless.  
  
Maria's breathing was irregular,  
  
"Oh God," she murmured wiping the sweat of her forehead and unzipping her jacket a bit, "How did we get away with that?"  
  
They stood and stared at the bodies around them for a moment. Maria bent down and picked up her wand from Draco's pocket and dusted herself off. There was a small pop some where behind him, it looked like the people from the Muggle relations office had come to clean up.  
  
~*~  
  
"So was there anyone else here except the five Deatheaters and yourselves we've picked up?" an official asked them taking notes onto a black pad he held in his hand.  
  
"Mark!" Maria cried heading into the wings on the side quickly followed by Harry. He was ashamed to admit it but he had completely forgotten about his partner when the other officers came and by the look of Maria, so had she.  
  
"Lumos," she mumbled when they couldn't see anything and as they searched around desperately the feeling of guilt just grew and grew. After about tow minutes of constant searching her light fell on the body of Mark,  
  
"Mark!" she gasped checking his pulse and pulling his eyelids up and flashing the wands light in it. Harry was by her side in a second,  
  
"He's just unconscious," he stated and Maria sighed and muttered a spell,  
  
"Resurrectio!"  
  
Marks eyelids started to flutter before he cracked one open,  
  
"Christ, get that light out of my eye!"  
  
Harry smiled relieved; he had a couple of cuts and bruises and maybe a bit of whiplash but he'd be fine. Maria, on the other hand, went berserk,  
  
"You little shit head," she hissed poking him in the side making him wince, "Did you want yourself killed?"  
  
Mark smirked,  
  
"Happy New Year Maria,"  
  
He hauled himself up and took a sharp intake of breath as he did so. Maria lost her anger at the sight of this,  
  
"That curse should have killed you Mark,"  
  
Harry's eyes fells on the jacket and so did Marks as he unzipped it and lay it on the floor next to Maria's feet.  
  
All the material was burned and un-burst bubbled lined the hole the curse had made around the centre of the chest area.  
  
"I think it's passed it's test,"  
  
Authors Note:  
  
Kinda strange I know but next chapter is going to have more Ginny and Harry stuff in  
  
I just wanted you to see Harry's 'action packed' job.  
  
Mark and Maria were there cos I didn't want him to go on his bil. 


	10. sing to your own tune can't think of a t...

Disclaimer- Yeah, like I'd be smart enough to think of Harry Potter but the plot (cough cough) is actually mine.  
  
Authors Note: Here's Ginny in this chapter though a little more Maria & Mark at the beginning. Can I just say how much it hurt me to make a nasty Draco- he usually all right in my other fics. *Sigh*- see! See how small that was!  
  
I would like to point out something- I don't know if it's cos' my computer isn't American or what ever it's just that none of the bold/italics work. I can't even have more than one space in between paragraphs without them being mucked up. Does that happen with anyone else?  
  
Chapter 10:  
  
Harry sat nervously twiddling his thumbs on the seat; they had been waiting here for ages. Maria had drunk half her body weight in tea and now was pacing up and down the corridor muttering things like 'Idiot,' and 'Stupid sod,'  
  
Mark had been in the medical ward for a couple of hours now while Harry and Maria were left of in the squeaky corridor. Even Maria, who was their superior, couldn't go in so they were stuck with no news and no Mark.  
  
Harry and Maria had been in there to heal their superficial injuries but Harry had swatted them away wanting to know where Mark was. All that they had heard was that he had some concussion and he should he out in a few hours. That 'few' hours came and went and still they were left with no information.  
  
The phrase no news is good news caused Maria to bite of a nurse's head.  
  
Maria came and sat down next to him and leaned her head against the wall and sighed. She had the advantage of having some clean clothes in her locker down the hallway and was now dressed in Muggle jeans that had a worn off effect on the thighs and three quarter length blue top.  
  
Harry, unfortunately, could only take off the black jacket and unfasten some buttons on his shirt to get more comfortable.  
  
The corridor was anything but silent, there was people rushing about looking like they had just crawled out of bed- which, he reasoned, they probably had. People were apparating in and out of rooms and medical staff was rushing around coming in and out of the ward.  
  
It looked like none of the Deatheaters were exactly healthy.  
  
But there was nothing said between the two work colleagues for quite some time. The silence between them was comfortable but even without speaking, Harry could tell that his partner was worried. Something was still eating away at her,  
  
"You know," she said suddenly, taking advantage of the fact that for the first time in a while there was no one on the corridor, "I nearly didn't bring those jackets,"  
  
Harry nearly choked on his drink but still remained silent.  
  
"What if."  
  
"Don't," he interrupted, looking down at his now swirling coffee. He had been thinking exactly along the same lines, what if they had scoffed at these jackets like the head of department had? There would be one less Aura and Harry suspected that either he or Maria would have a nervous breakdown.  
  
Harry raked his fingers through his still blonde hair, glanced down at his watch, it was 4:26 and he was thinking longingly of his bed.  
  
He felt his eyelids dropping down,  
  
"Caffeine, Redwood," someone barked at him, "Caffeine,"  
  
Harry's eyes snapped open and he sat up straight, his boss was here and of all the times Harry wanted to be seen this wasn't the place and definitely not the time. But he wasn't looking much better even if he did earn more a month then Harry in a year.  
  
He had black pressed trousers and a smart set of robes. The only thing ruining the picture was the light blue pyjama top buttoned up wrongly which the robes didn't quite cover and half stuck out of his trousers.  
  
His brown hair was tousled and he had stubble where he had forgotten to shave. The usually smart and calm Adam Smith was now seething with lack of sleep.  
  
"Is there a problem Miss Edwards?" he snapped noticing that Maria was trying to keep a straight face,  
  
"Um," she started, looking down at the floor her mouth still working furiously to stay neutral, "Absolutely nothing sir,"  
  
Maria caught Harry's eye and mouthed 'Someone isn't a morning person,' Harry fought down a snigger that threaten to burst out.  
  
They just stood there, looking anywhere but at each other and their boss until he snarled,  
  
"Is anyone going to explain why I was dragged out of bed at this god forsaken hour?"  
  
Now the humour had evaporated and they shifted their weight form foot to foot unwilling to say anything. Their boss just snorted and banged the hospital ward door open,  
  
"In!"  
  
~*~  
  
He was just staring at what was left of Mark's jacket. According to Maria, Malfoy had used an unknown curse- a trademark of a new Dark Lord.  
  
Maria was sitting down next to Marks bed describing the various ways she was going to kill him once he had his health back. Mark was looking pale and he had several stitches in his forehead but apart from that he were fine. And Smith had yelled at several nurses who had told them they shouldn't be here.  
  
All of them had sent Harry off in search of coffee.  
  
When Harry came back into the ward it looked like there was some conversation,  
  
"I thought Dunst was sent as well,"  
  
Mark was looking at Maria, who was avoiding him by looking at floor and he scratched the back of his head several times before he answered,  
  
"He discovered alcho-pops sir,"  
  
~*~  
  
Harry apparated into a cubicle in the public toilets half a mile from where he lived, he couldn't Apparate into his house or even just outside because Deatheaters could trace him. Also Paige might be walking around the apartment and he didn't want to explain to her why he had just appeared at five o'clock in the morning.  
  
So he was stuck apparating in some concealed location that was always too far from his house and as he had no money on him he had no choice but to walk the distance.  
  
He trudged along the path, hands in pockets, and gazed up at all the Muggle's houses as he passed wondering if they knew what had happened at Trafalgar square. Wondering if they would ever know the real truth or just tut at the gas company for ANOTHER explosion.  
  
Shivering slighting and not just because of the cold, he walked into the park using it as a shortcut and ignoring the feeling foreboding that was growing inside the pit of his stomach. He wasn't looking forward to his conversation with Paige.  
  
As he came to his house he delved into his pockets to dig out his keys,  
  
They weren't there.  
  
"Oh shit," he swore realising that they were in his discarded back at the square, which was by now crawling with muggle policemen. It would look suspicious if someone came in search of their jacket, only noticing that it was missing five hours later.  
  
He pulled the steamers of the door handle and risked taking his wand out,  
  
"Alohomora," he whispered, tapping the door handle twice before it sprang open. He paused for a moment, half expecting Deatheaters to zoom in and take him out, before pushing the heavy door open and dragging his heavy feet up the stairs.  
  
As he reached the top landing and came level with his door he knew better than to use magic again. He had been pushing his luck and breaking god knows how many rules using magic to open the main doors.  
  
But the only alternative was to wake up Paige and he didn't know who'd he rather face- a Deatheater or a fuming roommate.  
  
Not wanting to face the options he tried the door to see if for some reason it was opened already.  
  
He just looked at the door handle. Paige wasn't stupid enough to leave the door almost wide open in the middle of the night- even Muggle's had criminals. It didn't look like it had been forced open, which only added to his already growing suspicion.  
  
He took a deep breath to clear his foggy thoughts. The air here wasn't like it usually was- he sense magic.  
  
Pulling his wand out, he slowly grasped the handle and pushed it open looking around for anything out of the ordinary.  
  
Nothing.  
  
Just Paige lying on the sofa, in her pyjama's, sleeping soundly- not even stirring at the noise of the floor boards creaking under Harry's feet as he made his way across to her. There was a cold mug of half drunk coffee and a piece of paper on the coffee table.  
  
After her took of his shoes, he padded over to her and glanced at the paper, it read-  
  
You might need these,  
  
Weighing the paper down in the breeze from an open window were his keys.  
  
Picking them up and smiling he made his way to the airing cupboard and pulled out slowly an old blanket Mrs. Weasley had given him when he moved in with Ron. He sniffed it. It still smelt like the Burrow and of his house in the suburbs and he swallowed dryly.  
  
He had to see them soon- he had to.  
  
Sighing longingly he made his way over to the curled up figure of Paige on the sofa, who was using a book as a pillow. He smiled at the sight of this, she kept reminding him of someone he knew- some one from his past.  
  
He threw the cover over her and draped the dark red blanket over her shoulders gently and stood back still grinning. Tiredness suddenly enveloping him again, he yawned and looked in the direction of his room.  
  
It was so dark in Harry's sleep ridden mind, and it looked so far away.  
  
Yawning again, he collapsed on the end of the couch and lay his head back against the back of the sofa. He only stayed awake for a couple more seconds just staring at the ceiling and the patterns the moon cast against it.  
  
~*~  
  
He was vaguely aware that something beside him was stirring before it was FAR too early to worry about something like that. It was the time of morning he liked best- early enough for any troubles he had to stay at the back of his mind and late enough for him to fight off and nightmares that came his way.  
  
This someone wiggled their toes and stretched out pressing him against the arm of the chair causing a rift of pain to jolt through his side.  
  
"Oof," he mumbled sleepily wondering who it could be poking him in the back with their toes. Sleep was now dripping away and a name floating into his mind,  
  
Paige  
  
He was about to grab the blanket and settle back to sleep when a scream made his eyes snap open and stand up and almost trip up over the coffee table.  
  
Trying to look around he realised that his eyes were bleary with sleep so after a couple of furious blinks he scanned the apartment then looked at Paige.  
  
She was standing next to the window and rubbing her eyes frantically,  
  
"What's the matter?" he asked worried but slightly irritated by the fact he had been woken up for what seemed like no reason. And now, after spending a night on the couch squashed up, his aches and pains were starting to arrive.  
  
Paige mumbled something to herself,  
  
"You've got blonde hair," she stated, running her finger through her messy black hair and taking some steadying breaths. Seeing the look on his face she decided to expand on this, "You reminded me of someone- from my past I mean,"  
  
Harry nodded not quite sure which way to take it. He cursed himself for not taking the charm off- now he was stuck with light blonde hair until he dropped broad hints about him going to the hairdressers.  
  
Yawning again, the shock now worn off, he started walking over to the kitchen to find something to eat when Paige spoke again,  
  
"And, um," she yawned widely, "You've got blood splattered all over your face,"  
  
~*~  
  
"For God's sake Harry," she screeched, pinning him down on the seat with surprising strength "Quit squirming!"  
  
He stopped immediately hoping he hadn't heard right,  
  
"Did you just call me Harry?" he asked trying to keep his voice calm and steady. He could be just hearing wrong- he didn't really work well on five hours sleep. Paige let go of his shoulders like they were on fire and took a couple of steps backwards laughing nervously while scratching her arm,  
  
"Did you?" he asked again trying to edge away from the ice pack she held in her hand, the look on her face not going unnoticed.  
  
She shifted her weight and looked at the floor,  
  
"Um," she said, talking a step forward and moving the chair that was blocking her from him out of the way, "Ex-boyfriend?" she offered weakly. Harry nodded unimpressed.  
  
Moving suddenly, she caught him off guard and pushed the ice pack onto his swollen check where some shards of glass had got him. Yelping he was powerless to do anything expect shoot her with evil eyes.  
  
She took a seat opposite him, ignoring the glares he was giving her, and asked not for the first time,  
  
"Where did you go last night?"  
  
Every time she asked him this, he gave her the same reply, but this time he snapped more than said,  
  
"About,"  
  
~*~  
  
His cheek was really numb now.  
  
Three hours, twenty minutes later they had gone through twelve ice packs and Harry no longer had any feeling in the side of his face. Paige still insisted on him keeping them there though her motives were to make him better or get revenge on him because of the night before.  
  
He was tapping on the table slowly drumming an anonymous tune that he heard once.  
  
Paige twitched.  
  
"Stop it," she hissed, turning a page over on the magazine glaring at her she did so. Harry gave her a lopsided smile and went back to daydreaming.  
  
Soon he was humming a theme tune of an advert he saw on the television once.  
  
She placed the magazine on the table and took a deep breath a said slowly,  
  
"Stop it now or you will not see the sun set,"  
  
He frowned, which took a lot of effort considering that half of his face was frozen due to the ice pack strapped onto it,  
  
"I've got nothing to do though," he slurred childishly, starting to tap again.  
  
All she had to do that time was to look at him warningly before returning to her magazine.  
  
Finally having enough of this Harry removed the ice pack and placed it on the mat that lay on the table- he would be lucky if he ever got feeling back into that cheek again. Paige raised an eyebrow,  
  
"How come you sued to live on your own?"  
  
He didn't really want to answer that one but she didn't notice,  
  
"You seem like a nice guy," she continued not seeing his sardonic smile, "I would have thought you had friends,"  
  
He had told her that he was a banker so this was going to be more than a little difficult to explain- he didn't have the energy to make up another story. There was already to many lies to keep track of.  
  
"I used to live in the suburbs," he started not really knowing where he was going with it, "With my two friends from school,"  
  
Paige put her magazine down interested and took a sip of the steaming drink that she held in her hands,  
  
"Go on,"  
  
Harry shifted his weight uneasily before carrying on,  
  
"But something happened to one of their families," he said, remembering in painful detail what had happened to the Mr and Mrs Weasley and their only daughter, "And their mother and father were-"  
  
"Killed?" she interjected her eyes reddened slightly,  
  
"Yeah," he answered, wondering slightly how she had guessed, "And it was all my fault,"  
  
She looked a little taken aback by this and placed the mug of coffee back onto its coaster slowly looking somewhat out of it.  
  
"It was my job you see," he added temporality forgetting what he was supposed to be. She frowned,  
  
"And you're a banker?" she asked smiling,  
  
He swallowed dryly.  
  
"Dangerous times are these," he replied darkly, avoiding the question as he stood up and filled the kettle.  
  
~*~  
  
"Ok, Ok- let me get this straight," Paige was sitting opposite him on the couch now on her knees, "You moved away to protect them and that was like- two years ago?"  
  
Harry couldn't believe that it all had just come out. She just kept pestering on and on at about it until he finally broke down and told her most of the story. Minus the magic- and Ginny.  
  
"Yeah," he replied tiredly, raking his fingers through his hair and rubbing his eyes to fight off the sleep. "Something along those lines."  
  
She just pouted at this- he had the feeling she knew that he wasn't being completely honest. But it wasn't like he had to tell her.  
  
He stood up and wandered over to the window that stood on the landing separating the doors for his and Paige's rooms.  
  
Sighing at his memories, he gazed through the fire escape and at the skyline as the sun set over the trees in the park.  
  
It was amazing here at this time of the evening- just as dusk was settling in. There were a couple of children in the street playing with a football, and an old man walking alone through the park with his dog. Apart from these people there was nothing else.  
  
The only sounds were of the birds and animals and the far of, never ending hum of machines and traffic from the inner city.  
  
"Beautiful isn't it?"  
  
He jumped. He had become so absorbed in the sunset and the world outside the apartment that he hadn't heard here walking up behind him.  
  
"Yeah," he replied pretending to be unimpressed, "I suppose,"  
  
He dared a glace at her and found her smirking as she looked out of the window as well. For once she didn't have her glasses on and again her hair was up in that high ponytail it was all the time.  
  
"Why don't you see them?" she asked innocently but he saw a twinkle of amusement through the reflection in her eyes, "Surely the danger has passed? I mean, wasn't that Russian economy crash a LONG time ago?"  
  
Harry laughed out loud- a bittersweet laugh.  
  
He had no idea why he hadn't seen them, he missed them a lot but anytime he came half way to convincing himself to go, he would remind himself why he went. He really wanted a roommate not for the money but for someone to laugh with, some one to talk to - some one to just to be there.  
  
"I don't know," he said to stop his wandering thoughts in their tracks, "I guess I should,"  
  
"You should,"  
  
It had been too close the other night at the New Year fiasco- if he had gone with Maria or if she had gone alone they might not all be alive today. Maybe he ought to see them.  
  
He gazed out of the window, his mind in more turmoil then it had been before, and he could almost see the suburbs he used to live in.  
  
Tomorrow wasn't going to come fast enough.  
  
Authors Note:  
  
Yes, yes, I know you all want Harry/Ginny action but I have to do this for the rest of the plot to work ok?  
  
Right, and I want more than eight reviews PERLEASE  
  
Thank you  
  
Hope you enjoyed!!! 


	11. Home Again

Disclaimer: Do we have to go through this again? Not mine, not yours :(  
  
Authors Note: I know we want Ginny/Harry action but your gonna have to wait ok, this is going to lead on to that ok? Thanks to all those who reviewed the last chapter- I asked for 10 reviews and I got 15!!! YAY!  
  
Sorry about the wait- writers block, exams, homework essays (by hand people, I can't write fast by hand), revision FOR GERMAN TESTS AND I CAN'T DO ANY OF IT, tonsillitis AGAIN, a maths project, a science project and my mum saying no computer until my room is tidy (which is not going to happen) didn't help.  
  
And they that your school days are the best of your life- PAH -that person obviously didn't go to my school.  
  
So, please expect my apology.  
  
WARNING: EXCESSIVE US OF THE WORD 'SIGH' OR 'SIGHING'- YOU HAVE BEEN WARNED!  
  
Chapter 11:  
  
Harry stood in the middle of the road just looking around and smiling like a deranged person.  
  
It had been so long since he had walked down this street but he still knew his way around, he still knew every little side alley and even the pothole was there to greet him.  
  
The sun was shining weakly through the clouds that ran for as far as the eye could see on the sky- looming dark grey.  
  
Running his fingers through his hair for no reason he threw the carton of orange juice he had been drinking in the bin on the pavement. Removing his sunglasses he gazed down at the sign by him to make sure he had got it right,  
  
Watson Road.  
  
He had found it.  
  
When he returned to work he had to research what curse Malfoy had used, it was tedious work but no one was letting him or Mark near a wand. But, when Mark got wind of this he made up an excuse saying his head still hurt which was an improvement on his last reason- apparently he could open his eyes.  
  
So when Harry stumbled on a file, Magical Personnel Working the Muggle work, he couldn't resist a peak and found Hermione Granger still living with a Mr. Ron Weasley.  
  
Still living in there old house as well, he couldn't ask for anything better though he had a shrewd feeling that Ron had turned his room into a shrine to the Chudley Cannons. Before Hermione had only let him stick his posters in the bathroom.  
  
He strode down the pavement suddenly aware that there was no sound apart from the wind and the sound of a couple of crows flying over. People's hangovers should have disappeared by now and the only reason he was working now was to stay away from the house- and Paige.  
  
Paige, that was whole different ball of wool.  
  
There was something different about her- not in the way that someone's distinctive it was just sometimes he got the feeling that she didn't tell him the whole truth. He swallowed with difficultly as he remembered that not all the memories from the New Years Party were bad.  
  
He had arrived out side now and he searched the house for any sign of life. There was no car but they didn't need one and only the sitting room curtains were open.  
  
Knowing that he was more than likely to bolt if he didn't go now, Harry took a step forward onto the black tarmac drive. His legs were controlling him- not his brain.  
  
If his mind had control he'd be catching the bus that just passed by at the other end of the road.  
  
Ringing the doorbell twice he patiently waited for a moment and tried to kid himself that no one was home but if his memory was correct Ron would still be begging for a job.  
  
Sighing as his conscience battled the decision out, he turned around and faced the quiet muggle street once more.  
  
He had no idea why they had moved here. It was like Privet Drive all over again expect the people here went on the wild side- they had garden gnomes.  
  
Almost all of the hedges were levelled of to perfection and the only movement he could see was a white paper bag dancing in the wind along the pavement.  
  
"Can I help you?"  
  
Harry turned around and faced a very tired looking Ron standing in the door way with a piece of toast half eaten in his hand. He was leaning on the door frame and now had his mouth slightly agape,  
  
"Er," Harry said miserably as a wave of guilt washed over him, "Hi,"  
  
The next thing he knew was Ron had punched him in the eye- hard. He stumbled blindly back having not expected the blow and muttered,  
  
"Holy crap Ron,"  
  
Ron took a step out of the door way and walked over to him- Harry straightened up quickly and squinted up at him through his now swollen eye,  
  
"Where do you think you've been?" he yelled at him hoarsely, his voice breaking slightly making Harry think he was about to cry but he could never tell with his eye like this, "You little-"  
  
"I had to," he interrupted, his voice now only just below a shout, "It was endangering you and Hermione,"  
  
Ron just snorted and looked around as if looking for support,  
  
"He knows who your friends are Harry," he said the venom oozing out of his voice not quite covering the look in his eyes and not even bothering to clarify who 'he' was, "I think it was a little late to bail out,"  
  
"Exactly," Harry replied slowly, "I didn't want you to suffer like your parents and Ginny just because of me,"  
  
Ron opened his mouth to say something but thought the better of it. Harry could see all the anger draining out of him replaced by something he couldn't quite name.  
  
"God I'm sorry," he murmured raking his fingers through his sticky hair, "Are you okay? We came down and all we found was a note. We thought you'd been kidnapped or something."  
  
"Don't," Harry butted in seeing that this wasn't going to go anywhere good. He hadn't exactly forgot that everyone thought Ginny dead when he knew she had gone to the north. Ron was a skin was as white as paper and making his freckles stand out even more.  
  
Thunder cracked across the sky with cold, harsh rain hard on its heels but neither of the people on the driveway moved or made any move to do so.  
  
Suddenly he felt Ron arms wrapped around him and squeezing him tightly, which he returned gratefully until Ron called into the house,  
  
"Mione'," he yelled, grinning now, "We have a visitor!"  
  
The sound of foots running down a flight of steps and grumbling were the only things audible over the ever-growing pitter-patter of the cold rain.  
  
"Harry?" Hermione was now standing in the doorway, looking at the two people in the drive way in disbelieve. She rushed out and swept Harry up in a hug while Ron just smiled like an idiot.  
  
"We've been so worried," she cried, finally letting him go and brushing the tears out her eyes that mingled with the rain before staring at his eye, "What have you do to your-"  
  
Ron looking about looking as innocent as he could by scratching his shoulder, nose and arms several times,  
  
"I banged it on a lamppost," Harry spluttered out the first thing that came into his head and tried his best to hide the cringe that followed it almost immediately.  
  
He tried to keep his face as neutral as possible which was not helped by Ron suddenly had a coughing fit behind her frowning face,  
  
"On a lamppost?" she repeated putting her hands on her hips and looking at him judging his honesty,  
  
"Yeah," he replied not sure where this was going to go, "I wasn't looking where I was going- all that rain,"  
  
"Hmm-mm,"  
  
Ron dragged them both inside when he noticed that an old man was just standing on the pavement watching their argument on the path even though his dog had just shaken all of his wetness on him.  
  
"Tea Harry?" Ron asked pushing him in,  
  
"No thanks- coffee,"  
  
Hermione just rolled her eyes and muttered 'typical'  
  
~*~  
  
Harry sat on the couch in the sitting room, which was pretty, much the same, fiddling with the handle of a cup of coffee. Life here hadn't changed a bit as far as he knew.  
  
Ron and Hermione were having a heated argument in the kitchen and trying their best, but failing, to keep the noise to a minimum. Apparently Ron hadn't paid the milkman so they didn't have any milk in the house and no one wanted to go out in the pouring rain.  
  
He couldn't blame either of them and anyway, coffee with no milk suited his mood better.  
  
Harry glanced out of the windows behind him and watched the waves of water batter themselves against anything in their way. Torrents of flowing water wound their way into the grids and into the drains below never to be seen again.  
  
~*~  
  
"Oh my god," Hermione gasped for the millionth time, "It's fantastic to see you- you've changed a lot,"  
  
It had been like this for the past hour, Ron and Hermione sitting on the sofa opposite his just looking at him- Hermione just repeating the same phrase over and over whereas Ron was just giving him trivial pieces of advise. He had been around the house and was proved wrong about his old room being a shrine to Cuddely Cannons.  
  
Instead it was a shrine to Hermione's work with all of it filled with paperwork and reports that were yet to be marked and driving her up the wall. She was now working at Hogwarts as a teacher.  
  
It seemed that she loved school so much that she couldn't bear to leave it and was holding a position as an Arithmancy teacher- rumoured to be the next deputy head.  
  
To Harry's surprise, Ron had a job as a liaison officer in the ministry covering up any accidents. He tried his hardest when Ron mentioned something about a big job on news year's eve.  
  
"How're Fred and George?" Harry asked suddenly remembering them as Hermione offered him a biscuit out of the packet. Just as he was asking Ron was taking a bite out of his biscuit but set it down before answering darkly,  
  
"There is something wrong with those two," he replied as Hermione snorted and muttered something sounding oddly like 'Has it taken you this long' into her tea, "They have a lime-green coloured store in Diagon alley with a sign in the front warning anyone with heart or back problems to stay away,"  
  
Harry bit his lip to stop himself chuckling.  
  
"Ron's in a mood with them," Hermione stated, brushing some crumbs off her jeans carefully and grinning at Ron, "They set a giant spider to land on his head the first time he came in," Ron narrowed her eyes at him and folded his arms and leaned back on the chair.  
  
Hermione laughed and turned away from Ron,  
  
"Where have you been living?"  
  
It was the first question he had been given that didn't require some degree of deceit,  
  
"West End actually,"  
  
Ron sat up then looking impressed with all of his previous sulking vanished,  
  
"Cool," commented Hermione, "I'm jealous- Ron didn't want to move from here,"  
  
For some reason Ron stood up as if his seat just had a red-hot metal poker under it and rushed out of the room slamming the door behind him. Hermione looked as perplexed as he felt as they both watched him half-run out of the room,  
  
"That's strange," Hermione said more to herself than Harry, "I usually have to nag him to close the door,"  
  
~*~  
  
"How could you afford to live in the West End Harry?" Ron asked having returned form whatever he had rushed out to do and getting an elbow in his ribs from Hermione, "I mean, they're not exactly cheap- even the apartments,"  
  
Harry grinned lopsidedly as Ron shot Hermione a look through narrowed eyes while rubbing his ribs,  
  
"I got a roommate,"  
  
Hermione just nodded and took a sip of her tea quietly and Ron opened his mouth to ask something else but obviously thought the better of it.  
  
Harry realised that he had so many more questions but there was something he knew he was missing between his best friends that he couldn't quite name.  
  
They were acting different- just subtle things he had picked up on. He hadn't expected them to still be living together or at least living together without pulling each other's hair off.  
  
Shrugging off the feeling for the moment, he drained his mug in one swallow before asking another question,  
  
"How's Percy," he asked politely all to aware that the number of Weasley's were considerable less than when he remembered.  
  
But Ron didn't say anything along those lines,  
  
"Bored," he stated, rubbing his forehead tiredly because of the night shifts he had been working, "He can't get a promotion can he,"  
  
Hermione rolled her eyes again and started drawing pictures with her fingers on the chair she was sitting on.  
  
"Again, what Ron means is that he's jealous," she giggled poking him gently in the side before standing up, "Is that right sweetie?"  
  
Ron choked on whatever coffee was left in his cup and the tips of his ears went slightly red and he handed his now empty cup over to her,  
  
"While you up Hermione," he said through gritted teeth, "Could you get me another of coffee?"  
  
Hermione frowned and sauntered out of the room ignoring Ron's outstretched arm with a empty cup in his hand and shut the down behind her.  
  
Harry tried to keep the smirk down,  
  
"Sweetie now is it?"  
  
Ron narrowed his eyes dangerously,  
  
"James Redwood now is it?"  
  
This time Harry didn't have to force the smile down- it went faster than a fox down a hole.  
  
~*~  
  
"We were going to see come and see you soon Harry," stuttered Hermione as she watched his face turn from a shade of pink to white unnaturally quickly.  
  
Harry swallowed dryly,  
  
"How did you know," he asked Ron whose only answer was to point at Hermione, "I was the only one who knew,"  
  
Both of them were now avoiding his eyes,  
  
"Well?" he prompted now a new emotion was coming over him. Ron shifted his weight for the ninth time,  
  
"Tell him Hermione,"  
  
Ron's only answer was a glare,  
  
"It was too easy Harry," she said slowly fiddling with a lock of hair, "You just need a pass in the ministry."  
  
Harry didn't wait to hear the rest; instead he stood up and walked over to the phone in their hallway with one thought on his mind,  
  
Paige.  
  
If the Deatheaters got her he didn't know what he would do- she was really the only person that they could get James Redwood with and if they knew that James = Harry she would be dead. Harry Potter was all but invincible but James Redwood was a different matter.  
  
All they needed was the girl.  
  
He typed the number in as fast as his shaking fingers would let him and waited- the twenty seconds for an answer seemed like a lifetime. Ron and Hermione were in the hallway looking at him strangely as he drummed his finger impatiently as the ring tone never seemed end.  
  
"Hey there," came the voice on the other end of the phone but just as Harry was about to reply the rest of the message kicked in,  
  
"You've reached James Redwood's answering machine. Sorry, I'm not in and if you're after Paige she's probable skiving so leave your message after the beep-"  
  
How was he supposed to put this delicately?  
  
"Er, hi Paige," he started paying no attention to Ron's smirk by turning his back on them, "Are you there? Hello? Well, um, just be careful and don't go off anywhere."  
  
A horrible screeching reached his ears and a cruel laugh followed signalling that someone had picked up the phone.  
  
"Paige?" he questioned pretty sure that it wasn't her but asking all the same to keep the he feeling of looming at bay, "Is that you?"  
  
The laughter stopped and a strange hissing replaced it saying something that he wished he couldn't understand,  
  
"Can Harry Potter come out to play?"  
  
Authors Note:  
  
Yes, yes  
  
No prizes for guessing where I stole the last line- I was watching it last night cos- if you haven't already read- I had a computer ban cos my room looked like a bombsite.  
  
I'm trying to think what to do to the, if I get one, 100th reviewer for this fic. MMMM  
  
Maybe I need a beta reader  
  
ANYWAY, don't forget to review  
  
Go on- press that button,  
  
Happiness doesn't cost anything- just that button  
  
\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/\/ 


	12. Your favourite blondehaired psycho

Disclaimer: Do I really have to go through this with you? Again? Ok, ok, Harry Potter is not mine. If it were I would not be slaving away at the hellhole- aka my school. *Deep Breath* Did I go over the top there?  
  
Authors Note: Again with the wait. Ok, I'm sorry. I apologise for this chapter right here and now- I couldn't be bothered to put any decent description in. So, I'm sorry again.  
  
DOES ANY ONE HAVE MSN MESSAGING? AND WHO WAS THE 100th REVIEWER?  
  
Chapter 12: It's what you've all been waiting for-  
  
"Paige?" he questioned pretty sure that it wasn't her but asking all the same to keep the he feeling of looming at bay, "Is that you?"  
  
The laughter stopped and a strange hissing replaced it saying something that he wished he couldn't understand,  
  
"Can Harry Potter come out to play?"  
  
Harry stopped breathing. They had found him. They had taken over two years to find him but they had eventually- some where in the back of his head he had been expecting a phone call like this for ages.  
  
The person on the other end of the line must have taken Harry's silence for fear and mirthless laughter rang through Harry's mind. But it wasn't fear that Harry felt- it was anger.  
  
"What have you done with her?" he demanded accidentally breaking a pen in his hand, "Because if you've hurt her I will use your guts to string a tennis bat-"  
  
The laughing stopped,  
  
"Idle threats Potter," came the only reply but not as smoothly as the person intended, "And you know it,"  
  
He slammed the receiver down as hard as he could though it wouldn't achieve any thing.  
  
Nothing was said for several minutes but that suited Harry fine. He was thinking, searching for one golden thought, one pure idea that could save her,  
  
"Harry?" Hermione asked timidly and taking some steps towards him, "What's happened?"  
  
He looked up at his friends, Hermione looked worried and Ron's smirk had now vanished,  
  
"They've taken my roommate," he spat angrily not at Hermione but at the whole situation and not even saying who 'they' was, "Kidnapped her to put it lightly,"  
  
Harry had some questions for Ron and Hermione about how exactly they found him.  
  
~*~  
  
Ginny stood in the kitchen by the sink watching the pigeons flying outside on the fire escape and listening to their cooing. She ought to be doing something but there was nothing for her to do except mope about the apartment.  
  
If 'James' was here then at least she could watch a film with him and make fun of how stupid the characters were. It wasn't any fun on her own.  
  
She had exhausted all the reading material in the house and even sneaked into her roommate's bedroom and read some of his books. 'Ways to defend yourself against Dark Curses' didn't really appeal to her as a light read.  
  
Tiding her room was an option but she didn't feel like it, she had typed up a report so all her work was done and there was no way she was going to clean the dishes when it was Harry's turn.  
  
That was another thing- she couldn't talk to anyone because now Harry was in search of Ron and Hermione.  
  
Ginny wished she could just do that and she was now regretting her decision to run away. It was fine for a year or two but then you just get sick of lying to every one about your past and who you really are. It looked like it wasn't working for Harry either.  
  
That New Years event was eventful in more ways than one. But she had pushed all memories out of her head about what happened *before* the Dark Mark appeared in the sky. He probably had one to many Budweiser's that night.  
  
The cooing finally was beginning to get on her nerves, sooner than she thought though, and she shuffled into the living room. She considered watching the television for a minute but decided against it. Neither she nor Harry could afford digital or cable so they were stuck with five channels.  
  
Most of which, no doubt, would have some kind of sport on at the moment and that wasn't really what she wanted to watch at the moment.  
  
Books were a no go and the entire apartment was relatively tidy.  
  
Flopping on the chair feeling dejected, her eyes fell on the phone and she was tempted to make some prank calls. Fred and Georges favourite one in the muggle world was to call up Burger King and reserve seats for a meal.  
  
But just as she was about to pick up the receiver, the doorbell rang saving whoever she would have called from almost certain humiliation.  
  
She pulled herself up off the sofa and glided over the bare, wooden floors towards the door. Suspicion lingered somewhere in her brain because she hadn't buzzed whoever was outside her door up.  
  
"Damn," she swore softly when she discovered that someone had very kindly put gum over the hole on the outside. Now she couldn't she who it was.  
  
Quickly checking her reflection in the mirror by the door, turning the keys around in the lock and letting the door sing open. The smile that she had put on her face slowly dripped away when she saw who was standing outside her door.  
  
Even with little under three years out of the wizarding world she did not have to think twice who it was-  
  
Lucius Malfoy.  
  
And to make things worse before she could react she had a wand pointed in between her eyes with a cruel smile playing on his lips,  
  
"What do you call a Weasley with black hair?"  
  
~*~  
  
Hermione and Ron watched with worry as Harry paced back and forth in their living room muttering incoherent rubbish to himself.  
  
Finally he collapsed on the tattered seat with his face in his hands causing several loud groans of pain to come out of the chair.  
  
"Harry-" Hermione started to say after Ron nudged her but Harry interrupted her,  
  
"How did you find out who I was hiding as?"  
  
At the prospect of explaining they both simultaneously started shifting their weight from side to side and Ron suddenly became interested in a hole in the sofa,  
  
"Ron wants to tell you," Hermione replied glancing at Ron who didn't look exactly pleased to be nominated. He tried to speak and explain but ended up just looking like a fish out of water just mumbling to his feet,  
  
"Well?" Harry demanded a little more sharply than he would have liked but his stress levels were going up when he thought about all the time they were wasting.  
  
Ron cleared his throat,  
  
"We wanted to find you," he explained slowly looking for the right words, "So Hermione looked in the Ministry records-"  
  
"Wait," Harry said confused now, Ron obliged immediately, "There are millions of records- it would have taken you years to get anywhere near my address. You need passes and stuff,"  
  
Hermione scratched her ear lobe,  
  
"Ah," she muttered, "Well Percy may have let something slip at a party,"  
  
Oh, Harry was going to kill Percy when he next saw him- wand or not. Ron must have seen this,  
  
"Don't worry," he soothed the now seething Harry, "It wasn't that obvious- even Hermione didn't figure it out at first,"  
  
Harry ignored the kick that Ron received from Hermione for his last comment and stood up walked out of the room and into the hallway. He grabbed his jacket of the stand in the hall way and was just about to Apparate when someone stopped him,  
  
"Where do you think your going?" he asked sternly and placing a hand on Harry's shoulder. Harry gritted his teeth before answering testily,  
  
"To get her,"  
  
A smile spread over Ron's face,  
  
"Then I'm coming with you,"  
  
~*~  
  
Ginny swallowed dryly completely lost for words now. Lucius used this to his advantage and pushed her in and kicking the door shut behind him,  
  
"Make any noise and you'll be seeing your parents again,"  
  
That squashed any seeds of plotting to escape out of her mind. She had no idea why he was here but it definitely wasn't a social call- he wanted something and it wasn't just coincidence that she was living with the Boy- Who-Lived.  
  
He forced her back into the chair she was sitting in before, by the phone, pushed some magazines of the coffee table and sat opposite her. His wand was still pointed at her head.  
  
He was wearing muggle clothes which surprised her since Malfoy's would usually face a pack of wild horses than have anything to do something remotely muggle. But here was Lucius Malfoy dressed in trousers and a shirt- black but nonetheless muggle.  
  
Ginny knew it would be useless to fight back. He had already given her a dead arm just sitting her down and her wand was all the way in her bathroom in her cosmetics bag,  
  
"Where is he?" Lucius ordered forgetting to say please, "I'll give you three seconds to tell me,"  
  
He's lost it.  
  
That was the first thought that came into Ginny's mind when she heard this. What was she going to do?  
  
She didn't know where he was and that was the truth. All he had told her was that he was going to take her advice and look for his friends.  
  
She knew where they used to live. It was in the suburbs- Watson road or something like that but they wouldn't still be living there. Too many memories would at least drive Ron out.  
  
"One!" he barked dragging Ginny out of her memories and putting a finger up on the hand he wasn't holding his wand in.  
  
Racking her brain desperately for an idea to save herself she realised she may have no choice but to tell the truth. Or she could just wait and see if he really would kill her.  
  
Neither of her choices really tempted to her.  
  
Both of them ended up with someone dying.  
  
"Two,"  
  
It might have been something to do with the fact that a dark wizards wand was pointed in the middle of her forehead but she couldn't think of anything to help her current situation.  
  
Nothing came to her.  
  
She hadn't planned anything either because, unlike Harry, she was only running away from her family for selfish reasons. Harry started a new life to safe the people he loved.  
  
"One,"  
  
Ginny gritted her teeth. There was something in Lucius' eyes that told her that he didn't mean to kill her and she used that to whatever advantage she could,  
  
"You're testing my temper girl," he hissed standing up and towering above her. Muttering something, a soft yellow glow shot out of his wand tip and landed on Ginny's wrists.  
  
She winced even though it didn't hurt, in fact in tickled as the light wound its way around her wrists and cuffed her wrists together. It glowed brighter for a second before it seemed to set and turn into a bronze coloured metal imprisoning her wrists together.  
  
Finally, Malfoy put his wand away and pulled her up roughly by her collar.  
  
"Tell me where he is," he demanded through gritted teeth with is face barely three inches from hers, "Or you will regret it,"  
  
Ginny still wasn't ready for speech, which was quite unfortunate for her as Lucius was quite obviously near breaking point.  
  
He slapped her round the face. Hard.  
  
Containing the cry of pain she managed to slip out his grip and back onto the sofa nursing her swollen cheek. No one had ever hit her like that before. Sure she had fought with her brothers sometimes but it didn't go beyond a kick and a punch in the arm.  
  
Malfoy must have seen how close she was to sobbing,  
  
"If that hurt girlie," he whispered in her ear, "Imagine what I could do if I tried to hurt you,"  
  
A cold shiver went down her spine and it wasn't anything to do with the wind blowing in through the window,  
  
"Your knight in shining armour isn't going to come Ginny my dear," he continued striking a very sensitive nerve, "So give up now,"  
  
"He's out," she snapped suddenly finding her voice again, "And don't call me Ginny,"  
  
He grinned evilly,  
  
"Call him," he commanded pointing at the phone next to her. Ginny was surprised to say the least. The great Lucius Malfoy knew all about telephones?  
  
"I don't know where he is," she replied saying every word slowly knowing she oughtn't push her luck seeing all the odds were against her. Something flickered in his eyes and he took a menacing step forward and Ginny backed away as much as she could on the chair.  
  
But something happened.  
  
The phone started ringing.  
  
Both of them stopped and stared at it before Ginny reached forward to answer it,  
  
"Leave it!" he hissed grabbing her arm.  
  
"Hey there!" Lucius looked around for the third person and it took him a moment to realise that it was the answering phone. Ginny knew better than to laugh,  
  
"You've reached James Redwood's answering machine. Sorry, I'm not in and if you're after Paige she's probable skiving so leave your message after the beep-"  
  
Out of all the people she expected to call, this person was the last,  
  
"Er, hi Paige,"  
  
It was Harry- he sounded a little worried and stressed but there was no doubt that it was him. He was calling- he never called his own phone. Beside her, Lucius looked like Christmas had just come early for him,  
  
"Are you there? Hello? Well, um, just be careful and don't go off anywhere."  
  
Lucius leaned forward and picked up the receiver. The last thing she heard in English was 'Paige?" from Harry before Lucius hissed down the phone.  
  
Whatever he had said, Harry understood because the answer phone still recording and she heard clearly-  
  
"Where is she?"  
  
Authors Note:  
  
DUN DUN DUN  
  
Review and there will be a whole LOAD of action- not just fighting if you get my drift! I don't know if this was long enough but it was nearly seven pages long.  
  
REMEMBER! I am on my Easter holidays and I have like two weeks to donate to fan fiction! 


	13. Unlucky for some

Disclaimer: Do I really have to go through this with you? Again? Ok, ok, Harry Potter is not mine. If it were I would not be slaving away at the hellhole- aka my school. *Deep Breath* Did I go over the top there?  
  
Authors Note: I had this ready about a day and a half after chapter 12 was posted it just needed some tweaking. (Tweaking= major re-work) And I had to make Draco nicer, it was hurting me to keep him as a bad guy.  
  
Chapter 13:  
  
"Then I'm coming with you," Ron added with a large grin spreading over his face but the reason why Harry couldn't see.  
  
Harry stopped putting his jacket on,  
  
"You're not Ron," he said firmly pushing his arm through the other sleeve, "And that's final,"  
  
Ron's smile disappeared as quickly as a sweet down Dudley's gullet and for anyone that's doesn't know- that's fast,  
  
"And what," he answered thickly through the jumper he was pulling on, "Gives you the right to tell me what to do? I just might want to help your sorry cause,"  
  
Both of them started opening his mouth to argue some more when Hermione's voice interrupted them from the living room door,  
  
"I shouldn't bother apparating," she stated almost mechanically, stopping both of them dead in their tracks, "If this is Malfoy's work she'd be at their manor by now-"  
  
Harry gritted his teeth. His apartment, the Malfoy Manor- it made no difference because by the end of the day there'd be one less Malfoy in this world.  
  
He knew where the manor was perfectly having been there for more raids than Hermione had A's in Hogwarts. Ron must have had the same thought running through his brain,  
  
"So?" he asked childishly while making sure his wand was in his pocket. Hermione folded her arms and leaned against the door frame,  
  
"So," she answered slowly just for Ron's benefit, "Do you think the Malfoy's leave there manor unprotected? They have enchantments, spells, charms and all kind of things stopping people like you getting in when your not wanted,"  
  
That could be a problem.  
  
"But, Harry's been there loads of times on searches and stuff,"  
  
Harry was getting restless now even though he knew this was important,  
  
"Yes, but he had permission," Hermione explained quickly seeing Harry's harassed look, "Off the ministry- he had evidence why he should raid the manor,"  
  
He had no evidence, and if this went to court they only had the answer phone recording and all the proof on that could convict him was in Parsletongue. Being able to understand the snake's language was not a good thing in his situation.  
  
There had to some proof back at the apartment- at least finger prints or something,  
  
Unfortunately before he apparated Ron heard him mutter where he was going.  
  
~*~  
  
The place was a tip to say the least. All of the chairs had been toppled over and the magazines from the coffee table were splayed about with pages ripped out. One of the lamps lay smashed the ground as the glass cracked under his shoe as he made his way across the floor of his once tidy apartment.  
  
There was a small pop behind him and Harry took his wand out of his pocket,  
  
"Jesus I thought I was messy,"  
  
Harry still didn't put his wand back into his pocket,  
  
"Ron," he growled dangerously, "What did I tell you?"  
  
Ron merely shrugged and even if he had heard Harry's question he didn't answer it as he picked a chair up and set it straight. Harry was distracted for a moment wondering why a chair from the kitchen was blocking the doorway.  
  
Choosing not to talk to his partner, Harry swept off into the rest of the apartment searching in his room first of all then the kitchen.  
  
There seemed to be nothing missing anywhere- it looked like somebody was looking for something- or someone and hadn't found it/them.  
  
All of the apartment was a mess and not just in a pants-all-over-the-floor way but in a ransacked way.  
  
"I guess crime is going up then," Ron muttered unnecessary as he kicked a cushion that lay on the floor onto the sofa.  
  
"Why are you here Ron?" Harry snapped not even looking at him as he looked out onto the fire escape wishing that pigeons could talk. All he heard in reply was a grunt and a bang,  
  
"Ron?" he called steeping out of the kitchen and into the main living area with all the annoyance temporality lifted away, "Ron what are you doing?"  
  
Ron took a few steps back and wiped his brow before taking a run up and hit the door with his shoulders. Groaning and splintering the door gave way and fell through leaving dust fluttering upwards in the wind that blew in through the window.  
  
"I'm guessing this is her room," he heard through Ron's heavy breathing, "No?"  
  
Harry didn't answer; instead he just brushed Ron away and stalked into Paige's room. He knew he was being awful to Ron now and Ron had every right to just go home, do nothing and stay completely out of harms way. He had no right to be waspish like this- at least they were spending time together.  
  
Ignoring his conscience for a moment, he scanned the room while the dust settled but unlike all of the other rooms this one seemed relatively untouched. Of course she wouldn't be impressed if she came back on found her room with no door.  
  
With no sign of life Harry was about to turn around and make an apology to Ron.  
  
He got as far as the turning round. He even opened to his mouth to say 'sorry' but Ron's fist connecting with is jaw stopped him.  
  
No matter how tough you are or, like Harry, no matter how hard you've been trained to take pain if someone punches you and takes you by surprise you tend to fall. It seemed like Harry wasn't the only one who wasn't scrawny any more.  
  
Although he was surprised, Ron only managed to get Harry down onto his knees where he clutched his jaw for a moment before healing it with his wand,  
  
"Stop being a prick Harry," Ron said determinedly but unable to suppress the little waver of shock in his voice, "It doesn't suit you,"  
  
Harry nodded absent-mindedly and spat the blood out his mouth. He started to get to his feet when a sharp stabbing pain raced up his leg,  
  
"Ouch!" he exclaimed lamely as he managed to haul himself onto his roommates neatly made bed trying to ignore the large pool of blood growing on his knee. Pulling the leg of his jeans up, the grizzly sight of his knee came into sight,  
  
"Glass?" was Ron's only comment before he bent down and gingerly picked something off the floor where he had just hit but Harry had bigger problems.  
  
Shards off glass where embedded in his knee at odd angles and he could have sworn he saw something pulsate deep inside. No wonder it hurt when he tired to stand up.  
  
Muttering a quick healing charm again, he stood up and cringed at the bloodly mess he had left on her light blue sheets and the fact that whole bits of glass were just popping out of his leg. Just as he was about to clean the second mess he had made, Ron tapped him on the shoulder,  
  
"I think you might have a stalker," he said, biting his bottom lip in what was either worry, being grossed out by Harry's knee or just plain humour, "Look-"  
  
Ron passed a small, blood encrusted photo frame to his friend.  
  
Harry glanced down at it thinking it was some kind of twisted joke but the wariness in his mind turned to shock. The glass was splintered like a spiders web and blood leaked into the photograph but it was still remarkable clean and recognisable,  
  
It was a photo of him and Ginny.  
  
The one when he took her to Paris after her OWL exams.  
  
The one that only she had a copy of.  
  
~*~  
  
Drip, Drip, Drip, Drip  
  
Ginny sat, blindfolded, gagged and tied to a chair with some kind of rope that cut into her wrist. She had no idea where she was it was just somewhere damp, cold and smelly.  
  
Well the place she was in just smelt of wetness but the piece of material they had used to gag her with reeked.  
  
That was her own fault- she had been hollering abuse to whoever could hear her until her throat went sore and some one came up, hit her around the face again and gagged her.  
  
That stunned her for a moment or two and that person went to sit back down but then she started humming. There was something about living with six brothers that made her able to annoy any one.  
  
But now she just couldn't be bothered with it anymore. It seemed like she had been here for hours and still there was no sign of anyone coming to help her. Lucius was right, though she would never admit it,  
  
She had no knight in shining armour.  
  
Her head hurt from someone dragging her across the room by her hair and because she was blindfolded she stumbled and made it even worse. Her cheek was already hurt from the slap from earlier on and later he had kicked her in he stomach. She could feel the blood trickling down her hand and on the tips of her fingers only to fall off and join the constant drip of water from somewhere else in the room.  
  
Or at least she hoped the other drip was water.  
  
Unable to prevent it, she let a single tear roll down her bloodstained and bruised face. Another then another followed it as she silently poured her soul out onto the floor.  
  
Not for the first time she felt alone in this world.  
  
~*~  
  
Harry swallowed with some difficulty as he slipped the photograph out of its frame, ignoring the glass that scraped his fingers, and studied the picture.  
  
Unlike the glass that had previously framed it, it was completely void of blood or any kind of mess- it was spotless. There was no way a muggle photograph could have someone's knee rammed into it, have blood poured all over it and glass splitters around it without some much as a crease.  
  
"Ginny," he whispered, drawing a circle around her face with his bloody finger. Beside him Ron was shifting his weight nervously,  
  
"I think you've lost it," he remarked somewhat nervously, "She's dead,"  
  
But she wasn't and Harry knew that for a fact.  
  
She wasn't dead and all that time she had been living with her and he hadn't figured it out.  
  
Everything came together and he kicked himself for not figuring it out sooner.  
  
The ginger roots she had once and when she first arrived he thought it was her for a split second before she introduced herself as Paige. The fear in her eyes when she saw the Dark Mark was unexplainable until now- most of the Muggle's around them thought it was another kind of firework until the stage nearly blew up.  
  
Harry ran his fingers through his hair as more and more memories came floating back to him.  
  
She had called him Harry once and before he always got the feeling she wasn't telling the truth- not lying exactly, just not the complete truth. Today as well, Deatheaters wouldn't bother capturing a muggle- they'd just killed them on site especially one like Malfoy senior.  
  
There was just one thing he couldn't figure out- why she freaked out when she saw he had blonde hair on New Years day.  
  
Who had blonde hair that Ginny had had a bad experience with before today?  
  
The answer cam far to quick for his liking:  
  
Draco Malfoy.  
  
Years ago when she first came to him with this idea of running away he had attempted to kidnap her and use her as bait.  
  
It had taken three years and a different Malfoy but finally they had done it.  
  
They had pretty much the one thing that he loved above everything in their possession- that was not good. Not good for them that is.  
  
~*~  
  
Her blindfold was pulled off her eyes roughly and she was shocked- she hadn't heard anyone walking up to her. Squinting in the sudden change of light for a minute or two, the scene in front of her slowly came into focus, five Deatheaters surrounded her or at least she thought there were five.  
  
She recognised more than one of them from school and of course there was Lucius Malfoy grinning evilly at her. No one said anything for a moment,  
  
"Everyone," Lucius barked glaring at everyone around him, "Out! Now!"  
  
Not one person showed any sign of change in their face- no questions were asked as they trooped out obediently like little dogs.  
  
He brought out his wand and pointed it straight at her and she winced expecting pain only to find herself able to stand up.  
  
Standing up carefully, she looked at the person in front of her with distain,  
  
"Welcome to the Malfoy manor Weasley," he declared spreading his arms out wide displaying the dungeon they held her in like it was a fine banquet hall, "You must be the first Weasley here in, oh, 500 years,"  
  
Ginny swallowed a whole wave of sarcastic comments only to settle on,  
  
"I'm honoured,"  
  
Instead of reacting violently like she expected he merely smirked, brought his arms back down to his side and swaggered over to her. His grinning face was barely six inches from her own bruised one,  
  
"You should be," he whispered stoking an ice-cold finger down her blood-and- tear stained cheek, "Because you won't be coming out,"  
  
Ginny recoiled away from his touch as if he had just send an electric shock through her though the laugh that followed this was just as effective,  
  
"Don't you worry your pretty little sweetie," he hissed with failing kindness, "There's worse to come,"  
  
"Why?" she found herself saying despite her plan to stay quiet and find a way out,  
  
"Why?" he repeated slightly amused that she didn't already know, "I would have thought you would know Weasley- after all you are living with him,"  
  
Harry. She had figured that much but that couldn't be it- a long time had passed since Harry was wanted-  
  
"Voldermort's dead," she snapped, resisting the urge to add a swear word at the end of it, enjoying the fact that he still flinched from the name. She allowed a small smile to tug at her lips,  
  
"Or are you still scared of your old master's name? Do you miss him?" she taunted without thinking, "I'll tell you what, you can lick my shoes if you want-"  
  
She didn't get to finish her sentence.  
  
Lucius, who was pacing back and forth getting more and more angrier at every word she spoke, suddenly snapped and with one swift movement he had her pinned against the slimy wall,  
  
"If you say anything like that again girlie," he warned with Ginny cowering below him, "I swear you will regret it,"  
  
Ginny gulped and lost her voice again.  
  
The two stared at each other with equal hatred for what could have been hours if some one hadn't interrupted them,  
  
"Er, sir," came the timid voice from the doorway, "I think you'd better see this,"  
  
Ginny could have sworn she heard him growl before he let her go, swept out of the room, robes billowing, and slamming the door behind her.  
  
She slid down the wall wanting to cry now more than ever in the pitch-black darkness.  
  
~*~  
  
"Ah Potter," a familiar voice greeted him, "Long time no see!"  
  
Harry forced a smile, nice thoughts, nice thoughts, nice thoughts, nice thoughts-  
  
"Hello Draco," he answered stiffly through gritted teeth as he pulled out a chair and sat himself opposite his school years enemy. He nodded to a guard who left to stand outside of the room while some other officials dealt with Malfoy's security.  
  
Even with two years out of interviewing Deatheaters, the rooms hadn't changed. The same sickly yellow or cream was painted on the walls only this time paint was peeling giving the effect that it was snake skin more than ever.  
  
The simple, wooden table they were both seated at stood in the middle and apart from the three chair that surrounded it, two on Harry's side and one on Malfoy's, there was no other furniture.  
  
He didn't have to look behind him to see that there was a long mirror that covered the entire length of the wall. He knew that Dumbledore, Percy Weasley, Arabella Figg and many more important individuals stood behind it watching and listening to his every move.  
  
Finally they were alone in the room- or as alone as they could be with half a dozen people peering through and tight security buzzing around.  
  
"Who's in there Potter?" Draco asked as innocently as he could with an annoying smirk plastered all over his face, "Dumbledore I suppose," He casually leaned back on his chair and starching his arms as if this was already boring him.  
  
Nice thoughts- think nice thoughts,  
  
"Amazing," Harry answered calmly ignoring Dumbledore's order to keep it strictly business, "Even after all these years and a couple of weeks in Askaban you still remain the prick you were in school,"  
  
If it wasn't for the fact that Draco was bound to the chair and wand less Harry had good reason to believe that he wouldn't be awake now. The person opposite him swallowed with some difficultly before speaking,  
  
"Why are you here Potter?" he said not even looking at him, "I get dragged away from my favourite meal just so you can gloat? Well, this is low, even for you-"  
  
"Listen," Harry interrupted knowing too well that this was not going to go anywhere good anytime soon, "Your darling father has kidnapped someone," he didn't give him the pleasure of knowing exactly how close to home they had hit, "And guess who he wants,"  
  
Taken back was one emotion that until now Harry though Draco impossible of,  
  
"You?" he offered somewhat weakly and not sure what to expect,  
  
"Yes me," Harry snapped, Lucius had been Voldemort's right hand man and with the Dark Lord gone who knew how twisted his mind had become, "Someone else as well, so why do you think I'm here?"  
  
Of all the things he expected, a smile or thinly veiled happiness, when he told him this, Harry did not expect a dark look to come over his face.  
  
"No,"  
  
Laughter bubbled up in Harry's throat when he knew that that humour should be shock,  
  
"No?"  
  
"I would rather spend my day's rotting in Askanban than join that lunatic again,"  
  
Harry knew that he wasn't the only one shocked by this news. He could almost imagine Ron's eyeballs falling out of their sockets,  
  
"Excuse me?"  
  
"You heard me Potter," he answered with a little less venom, "I hate the man- I hate my father,"  
  
The Daily Prophet was going to have a field day when they found out about this.  
  
~*~  
  
About an hour previously - Auror Headquarters London:  
  
"Good afternoon Harry,"  
  
Harry stood up quickly and came face to face with Albus Dumbledore and his now twinkling light blue eyes. To his left was Arabella Figg who merely nodded and smiled at him wearily. Ron, who stood behind them both, was grinning beside a smug looking Percy.  
  
"Afternoon Sir,"  
  
Dumbledore made his way across the room and sat behind his desk and opposite Harry,  
  
"Please," he said after a moment, "Don't call me sir, Harry, it has been many years since you were at school,"  
  
Harry sighed and ran his fingers through his hair again; it had been too many years since he had seen his old headmaster- or any of his school friends for that matter. Dumbledore had aged, he looked a lot more tired than the man he knew from his first year at Hogwarts but his light blue eyes still shone.  
  
"So Harry," Dumbledore asked after a second-too-long silence, "What brings you back to our world?"  
  
His stomach twisted with guilt for the ninth time and three minutes - most of the waves of new guilt had come when he spoke to Percy. Harry pulled a piece of parchment he had received earlier out of his robe pockets, it took a while as he wasn't used to them, and placed it on the desk,  
  
"I got this," he answered, pushing the letter towards him and leaning back in the leather armchair, "About ten minutes ago,"  
  
He watched Dumbledore's eyes scan through it and when, Harry presumed, he got to the end he swallowed with some difficulty,  
  
"I think we should pay Draco a little visit,"  
  
In the corner Harry could hear Ron having a coughing fit.  
  
Authors Note:  
  
Yes, I know I'd say there was going to be some Harry/Ginny action and all kinds of violence and stuff but I have this weird need to have this fic AT LEAST 15 chapters long, ok?  
  
*Weeps* sorry but I'm have to have it like this.  
  
This was nine pages long so don't winge.  
  
Chapter 14 will be soon and I PROMISE it will be-  
  
Long  
  
Action packed (take that either way)  
  
Erm, good? 


	14. We Have No Choice dun dun dun

Disclaimer: Do I really have to go through this with you? Again? Ok, ok, Harry Potter is not mine. If it were I would not be slaving away at the hellhole- aka my school. *Deep Breath* Did I go over the top there?  
  
Authors Note: Yes, the wait, I know but I am on holiday and it's sunny and warm outside. SUNNY AND WARM!!! Do you realise how often that happens in Britain (Note to Paffy- you know what I mean)? Huh? NEVER! Ok, so I wasn't going to spend my time in front of a monitor ALL the time. Plus, I'm on at night, which is like three hours. :)  
  
:::NOTE::: There is this song that I NEED to know the name of. It's like this sort of rock song but it has this kind of classical singer (or a none screaming one) as well. It was supposed to have done well in the U.S.A so can you guys help me. I heard it on the radio and remember thinking to myself 'Remember it,' So what do I do? Forget it. I think it begins with 'A' or 'E'. Can you help me?  
  
*Special Note* Thank you SO much to Punkin - she helped me through the last chapter A LOT of the last chapter and beta-read most of this chapter. Thanks Gal!  
  
Chapter 14:  
  
* Potter, *  
  
*I believe this is yours - *  
  
Stuck to the parchment was a picture of Ginny, gagged and looking like she'd seen better days. If Harry hadn't been used to seeing this kind of thing almost on a daily basis, he would have broken down right then.  
  
She looked awful. There was bruising all over her face and a large, and it looked deep, cut ran across from her shoulder to her collar bone.  
  
On the picture, she was holding a piece of cardboard reading,  
  
* Come out to play *  
  
Her fingers were trembling even in the picture and much to his dismay, stained with blood and mud. In the picture, her brown eyes were darting around looking worriedly at something moving just beyond his view.  
  
The picture seemed to be on a loop, her eyes would go back and forth then the person looked like they were going to coming int view when it went back to the beginning.  
  
"Teaser note tut, tut, to get you attention, I guess something's will never change,"  
  
Harry looked up startled only to find the face of his colleague, Mark, looking down at the picture Harry was holding out in front of him. Almost defensively Harry opened his mouth but Mark interrupted him,  
  
"Demands next I suppose,"  
  
This was going to be hard,  
  
"Already got it," he replied, avoiding Marks searching eyes, and pulling another note out of his robe pocket and passing it to him, "Not pretty,"  
  
Mark took the opportunity to give him an meaningful look as Harry passed him the letter making want to stand up and run away right then. But he didn't have another get-up-and-go in him so he remained in the seat feeling like a traitor.  
  
"My son * Draco *," Mark muttered as he read the demands, "And * Harry Potter *,"  
  
Harry looked up at the wrong moment.  
  
His partner sat down in the chair next to him and rubbed his eyes - it was fairly late now - wearily. Harry opened his mouth to say something but couldn't quite put what he wanted to say into words.  
  
So he closed it and joined his friend at staring at the cream 'snake-skin' wall opposite them.  
  
"What has Smith said about it?" he asked as he studied the picture of Ginny Harry had passed him, "He usually loves trespassing on the Malfoy Manor,"  
  
Leaning back in his chair until his head hit the wall, Harry sighed and wished his boss could work on this,  
  
"This has gone straight to the Order,"  
  
Mark looked impressed,  
  
"Cool,"  
  
Harry smiled and waited for the question . . .  
  
"Why?"  
  
Sitting up properly again, he attempted to explain - Mark already knew that he was really Harry Potter (not James Redwood) - but found it harder and harder the more he thought about it,  
  
"Well," he started not knowing what to say, "The thing is-"  
  
"Wait a minute," Mark said frowning, Harry stopped at once, tapping the picture making Ginny in the picture flinch slightly, "She's a Weasley,"  
  
Harry felt his kneecaps turn to water and he arranged her face into what he hoped was an interested-yet-innocent look,  
  
"But the youngest one is dead," Mark continued, not stopped by Harry in any way, "Suicide if I remember rightly- that was my first job - nasty mess,"  
  
Another wave of guilt threatened to spill out of Harry - via his * tear ducts * - it had been a long two years,  
  
"I heard rumours," Mark remarked, this time Harry didn't have to fake a innocent look, "People said she was escaping the Malfoy's - guess they were true,"  
  
Mark looked up at Harry but not with a suspicious glance like before - this time he looked just plain confused,  
  
"But why would the Order want to be involved?"  
  
At least he could half tell Mark the answer,  
  
"It involves a high-profile convict I suppose," He explained, Mark shrugged, "And, erm, me,"  
  
Somehow, contrary to his resolve to sound confident, he said the last bit in a very quiet voice,  
  
"I guess you were right too," Mark grinned, "I knew you were too smart to be a regular grunt around here,"  
  
An answer would have been appropriate then but Harry didn't get the chance, the door they had been willing to open finally opened,  
  
"Harry," Dumbledore spoke softly from the door way, "Come in,"  
  
Both Harry and Mark stood up, with one last nod and a pat on the arm, Harry walked into the room where the Order of the Phoenix was sitting.  
  
Where the people who controlled Ginny's fate were sitting.  
  
~*~  
  
Harry punched the wall wishing that some ones face lay there.  
  
"Ja- I mean Harry?"  
  
Looked like Mark was still here then, Harry took a deep breath, clenched and unclenched his hands in a useless attempt to calm himself down,  
  
"What happened?"  
  
Harry's anger turned to despair in a second and he slumped on the seat next to Mark with all his energy suddenly sapped away.  
  
He yawned and glanced at the clock that hung lop-sidedly on the wall,  
  
It was quarter past three in the morning. Why did ever thing in his life have to happen at this time of the day?  
  
"They might as well as said no," Harry muttered bitterly, rooting the picture of Ginny out of his pockets and looking at it sadly.  
  
Her fingers were still trembling and her eyes darting around, but apart from that she could have been a living prop from a horror film.  
  
Mark sat down as well and sighed,  
  
"You have to wait 48 hours?"  
  
This was the standard waiting time for any kind of rescue or kidnap situation - after Harry's fifth year the ministry was losing too many good Aurors with rescue Opps. So, they had to become tougher with Deatheaters and not negotiate with them.  
  
"Yeah," he forced out, keeping back a whole tide of curses and cussing towards a certain person, "I do,"  
  
"Ouch,"  
  
Ouch didn't quite cover what Harry was feeling.  
  
~*~  
  
Ginny had pulled her self into a corner once her eyes had become accustomed to the darkness that floated around her.  
  
There were no windows in her cell; the only light was from the small rectangle of space in the door where the faint glow of a candle flowed in.  
  
That was enough for her to get a basic knowledge of her prison - it was quite small with hay build up in the corners and even in the weak glow of the candle she could see the walls glistening with what she hoped was water.  
  
There was no way of knowing how long she had been here - it could just be a few minutes, a couple of hours or a weeks.  
  
She didn't know.  
  
Ginny had read some books that told you how to keep a person alive from a distance by able to quench their thirst and feed them.  
  
The thought of Lucius doing that to her made the hairs on the back of her neck stand on end.  
  
Ginny pulled what was left of her jumper around her, taking her arms out of the sleeves and wrapping her arms around her chest, to try and control her shivers. Sniffing sadly, she attempted to make a bed out of the hay she was laying on. It looked like Malfoy was expecting visitors - it was relatively fresh.  
  
The light in the room was beginning to grow, casting longer shadows all over the place, and soon she heard the rhythmic sound of some ones shoes on the hard cobbles.  
  
Wishing she could just shrink and disappear, she forced her cold and ridged arms through the sleeves of her sweatshirt before standing up shakily.  
  
If she was going to have to face Lucius Malfoy she was going to do it standing up - she wasn't going to give him the pleasure of looking down at her.  
  
Although she had been expecting the door to open soon, she couldn't help but jump when it banged open and slammed against the slimy wall.  
  
Three Death Eaters glided in, Ginny had to stop herself from stepping back by gripping the back of the wooden chair that stood in the middle of the otherwise barren room, followed of course by Lucius.  
  
"You," one of them said gruffly and pointing a finger at her, "In the chair,"  
  
Ginny's only action was to give him a death glare while removing her hand from the chair back.  
  
Out of the corner of her eye she saw Lucius shaking his head slightly,  
  
"Ginny," he said charmingly, which made her skin crawl, walking up to her and placing his hand on her arm, "We can do this the easy or the hard way,"  
  
As much as she hated to admit it, she had to do had to do what they wanted - she was basically out numbered. She wouldn't stand a chance with her wand and that was possibly hundreds of mile away back in her room. Having lived in the muggle world for so long, she didn't carry it with her a lot - something she had kicked her self.  
  
Shrugging his hand of her shoulder, she sat in the chair and gave anything that moved dead eyes. Unfortunately, she hadn't been in the company of Deatheaters for a long time and had forgotten Lucius' very temperamental attitude.  
  
She remembered too late. She remembered after he hit her again around the face.  
  
"Remember where you are girlie," he hissed as he squeezed her shoulder tightly, she had to bite her bottom lip to stop a scream of pain exciting, "This is not what you would call a holiday,"  
  
For once Ginny agreed with him.  
  
He let go and swept off to what the other Deatheaters, what they were doing she didn't know - nor did she want to. She was now starting to doubt whether or not she would see sunlight again.  
  
The group of Deatheaters turned around, one of them held a camera, the other apiece of old cardboard and Lucius and the remaining Deatheater were smirking evilly.  
  
This did not make her feel and better. These mundane, everyday items made the well of fear in her mind double in size.  
  
The one with the cardboard forced it into her hands and just as she read it she felt her lungs stop working. She looked up in time to see Malfoy walking back and forth, grinning at her, and see the photographer in front of her. For the second time that day she figured something out too late.  
  
A flash and puff of purple smoke merely confirmed her guess. She was indeed bait for the second time in her life.  
  
And both times it was to get the Boy-Who-Lived - if she hadn't been in mortal danger, she would have felt depressed.  
  
* Come out to play *  
  
How original, she thought bitterly noting how she now had a paper cut to add to her list of injuries, No expense spared.  
  
~*~  
  
Harry had been told to go home and get some rest but he got as far as the front doors before turning back around. The cold, crisp air out side had done nothing except wake him up even more so he was now walking around aimlessly down the cream hallways.  
  
Hands in pockets, he let his feet carry him while his brain was millions of miles away in memory land. He could have stayed like that for hours but as it was he had too many friends.  
  
Suddenly, completely out of the blue, an arm shot out of a door and grabbed his shirt and dragged him in with it. Harry was too stunned to do anything at first but started fighting the limb until a familiar voice calling his name,  
  
"Harry!"  
  
He stopped mid-punch when he heard Ron's voice.  
  
Feeling like a fool he looked around the store cupboard he now found himself in.  
  
Half hidden by the various cleaning agents and darkness he could see Ron, Mark (who was nursing his arm like a sullen child), Dumbledore, Maria (grinning at Marks face) and to his surprise Katie Bell.  
  
Now he was really confused,  
  
"Katie?"  
  
She smiled warmly but still remained silent before she went rooting around in a bag she had slung over her shoulder. By the look of her clothes it seemed that she had become a receptionist here - she had probably recognised him when he was wandering around.  
  
"Uh, why are we here?" he asked looking around at the collection of people that were grouped together in this tiny space. Almost everyone turned towards Dumbledore,  
  
"Follow me,"  
  
~*~  
  
Draco glared at the happy witch who had entered his cell. She obviously was new around here or at least none of the other guards had let her deal with him. But he reconsidered; he was always looking for fresh meat and in a prison people who you could manipulate didn't come along very often.  
  
Half of the people here were crazy anyway - with or without the Dementors.  
  
"Helllooo Mr Malfoy," she greeted cheerily bustling in with a tray which no doubt held his ratty meal. He was supposed to have it an hour ago but his little encounter with Potter postponed it. So, it was most likely cold and ratty now. Yummy.  
  
She was skinny real and the uniform they wore seemed to hang on her, her brown hair was back in a tight bun like all the other female officers with long hair were forced to do and the metal trolley she pushed in jangled and jingled as she pushed it towards him.  
  
His only reply was to blink.  
  
Clearly unfazed by his inability to utter a nice word towards her, she picked up a tray and set it down about half a metre from his feet.  
  
He smirked - so she had heard the stories,  
  
"Thank you,"  
  
The woman did a double take as Draco bent down to pull the tray closer to him. He pulled the lid off the plate of food and wasn't surprised to find there was no steam billowing out.  
  
She was still standing there, much to his annoyance, just twiddling her fingers before wringing her hands uncomfortably. Draco, being perfectly at ease in the silence, had only his food in mind.  
  
He hadn't eaten since yesterday breakfast- Ministry cut backs was the only reason he could think of.  
  
He was about to take a bite out of the sandwich, stale bread and most likely had something soggy in the middle, when she finally got the better of his nerves,  
  
"You can go now," he ordered waving his hand leisurely and placing the bread back on the plate - she scuttled out head down dragging the trolley behind her.  
  
Draco should have eaten then but instead he chose to shake his head at the youth of today and watch her make her round through the bars that make up his door.  
  
Picking up his meal again he couldn't help but grin, life was looking up - he had discovered that Potter was back on the scene and had a problem, there was a new victim in the prison and he was about to eat. He rooted the piece of chalk from under his mattress and scratched a mark on the wall - one less day of his seventy-five year sentence.  
  
He opened his mouth to take a bite out of his meal when a commotion down the hallway caught his attention. By the looks of things he wasn't the only one who had heard it - all his fellow convicts were coming to the their door and peering through the bars.  
  
Not really caring for the moment, he removed the insides of his sandwich because he learnt that if he couldn't recognise it then it was better off not eating it. So, all he was left with was quite literally bread and water. Well, bread and margarine and water.  
  
Incoherent yelling followed the clattering of pot and pans - just as well he had his meal now - but interest the got the better of him. Briefly, part of his brain, the hungry part, told him curiosity killed the cat.  
  
Draco set his food back down onto the floor, stood up and had walked about half way across his cell when two guards came bursting into his cell.  
  
"Draco Malfoy?" one of them asked looking at him,  
  
Draco was too shocked to plot any way to get out so he nodded dumbly, though he regretted it when they treated him like a danger right now. You blow a couple of things up, break a few of the fundamental laws for the wizarding way of life and suddenly you're dangerous? It looked like it.  
  
Pinned, face down, on the rough material of his bed he saw one of them tread on the rim of the plate and causing it, and the food on it, to topple on to the floor.  
  
That alone wouldn't be too bad if it was for the fact the bread landed butter side down - Draco knew what had been on floor and the last time it was cleaned was when he first came into this cell.  
  
Taking his shout of disappointment as a sign of hostility, the Auror who was holding him down bound his wrists together and pulled him up onto his feet,  
  
"One Malfoy ready to go,"  
  
Draco didn't appreciate being talked about as if he was an object and he prepared to shoot a glare at this officer but recognised him,  
  
"I know you," he said frowning unable to put his finger on who it was, a giggle from the door caught his attention and to his irritation he recognised her as well, "And you,"  
  
The man smirked,  
  
"We're your last 'victims' Malfoy," he stated, the woman walked up to them and brought out a biro pen. Despite his obvious position he grinned at the sight of this,  
  
"And we are doing what with that Muggle trash?"  
  
They both glanced at each other before one of she rolled her eyes,  
  
"This," she explained tapping him on the head with it, "Is a p-o-r-t-k-e- y,"  
  
He didn't bother answer - they both knew he feeling on muggle objects,  
  
"Thought you'd like it,"  
  
~*~  
  
Harry rubbed his eyes. It was already nearly twenty hours since he'd slept and Draco Malfoy who was sitting on the chair grinning ar him wasn't helping at all.  
  
"Malfoy-" he started when he finished yawning,  
  
"Please Harry," Draco interrupted, thoroughly enjoying this whole situation, "Call me Draco," he leaned back in the chair and placed his heels on the table - out of the corner of his eye he saw Maria flinch as his dirty feet were seated on her papers.  
  
This had been going on for about an hour and a half and already Harry was pissed off. His shirt hung loose and stubble was beginning to show and he wasn't the only one - everyone apart from Hermione and Dumbledore looked like shit.  
  
"Look Draco," he snapped, not even enjoying the look of surprise from Draco that he'd actually done what he was asked, "I know you think this is the perfect situation for you,"  
  
Draco shrugged. It was really for him. Now, Dumbledore having found several loopholes, they were acting independently therefore they couldn't use any form of truth potion on Draco or force information out of him. Ron had suggested sitting on him until he spilled everything.  
  
They were going to have to make a deal,  
  
"Help us," Harry muttered quietly leaned forward, "And I'll take fifty years off you sentence,"  
  
The man opposite him half smiled before he worked something out,  
  
"What will I want with freedom when I'm one hundred and three?" he asked scathingly making Mark muttering in his sleep about something and somehow manoeuvred onto Maria's shoulder. Harry had to figure his comment out.  
  
The jury and judge had practically prosecuted him for his father's crimes by using the maximum imprisonment for all twenty-nine of his charges. It finished at something over one hundred and fifty years.  
  
Harry thought about it,  
  
"Minimum security,"  
  
Draco pretend to think,  
  
"There's no way they'd let me out of their sight," he said smirking, "I've heard they even won't let you use knifes to eat because all the psychos used to go there,"  
  
That was true actually but he wasn't about to tell him.  
  
"Fine," Harry snapped, "Nyper's Peak for you then,"  
  
Mark jolted out his sleep and out of the shadows Harry saw Ron grin,  
  
"N-N-N Nyper's Peak?" Draco stuttered most uncharacteristically, "But that's a-"  
  
"Exactly," Harry finished nastily folding his arms and lapping up Draco expression. Amazing, he thought, how someone can go form being so cocky and confident about themselves, then at the mention of a place that practically shrink up in front of you.  
  
"You wouldn't," he said not even believing himself,  
  
Harry leaned forward menacingly,  
  
"Oh," he answered, "Trust me - I would,"  
  
Draco studied him for a moment,  
  
"Ok," he finally managed, his voice now no longer shaking and placing both hands on the table carefully, "What if I * could * help you - what do I get in return,"  
  
"You'll have three day's," Harry replied with more conviction than he felt, "Then we're chasing you,"  
  
He kept his eyes on Draco because he knew that everyone else around was shaking there head in disbelieve or staring at him like he was a mad man.  
  
Draco, however much time he had spent inside, understood completely and smirked,  
  
"Deal," he said happily, offering his hand out. Harry, surprised by this mutual act of friendliness, paused for a moment before shaking his hand back,  
  
"Right," he instructed, standing up not without noticing almost everyone straightened up as well, "What do we do?"  
  
This was directed at Draco more than anyone else,  
  
"We plan Potter," Draco replied, returning to their old names for each other, "Trust me - loads of planning,"  
  
For the first time in about ten minutes, someone else except from Harry or Draco spoke up,  
  
"What do you need?"  
  
Harry squinted out into the shadows around them realising that they were under a bare, lantern hanging from the ceiling that really did nothing except light the table that he and Draco were sat at,  
  
"Just parchment and a quill," Draco replied rubbing his eyes, "And-" he looked up hopefully, "Do you have any food?"  
  
~*~  
  
"Right," Draco announced to the small crowd of people around him through a mouth full of carrot, "This," he pointed proudly to the hand drawn rough map with a piece of the vegetable, "Is our way in,"  
  
"A wiggly line?" Ron questioned tilted his head to the side to get a better look at 'map'.  
  
Draco scowled,  
  
"Malfoy's are known for their evil ways," he retorted crossly, "Not their art skills,"  
  
"Obviously," Ron muttered under his breath making Draco frown even more and would have replied if it weren't for Dumbledore's intervention,  
  
"We're all tired," he spoke softly but still everyone heard him, "I suggest we hear Mr. Malfoy's plan out," He looked at Ron and Mark for a moment, "And catch some rest,"  
  
Hermione was already taking his advice.  
  
She seemed even more tried than the rest of them so Ron had ordered her to go and at least lie down so now she was sleeping on the sofa that Dumbledore had Transfigured for her under Ron's cloak.  
  
"What is it then?" Maria asked as nicely as she could but not quite covering up the blatant sarcasm in her voice.  
  
Draco bristled,  
  
"It's a map,"  
  
Even Dumbledore gave Draco an exasperated look - they had been going in various circles like this for ten minutes,  
  
"Really?"  
  
One last glare before they returned to the map,  
  
"As I was saying," he snapped, "It's a route around the place-"  
  
"Place?" Maria spoke up for the first time in a while, "This is the Manor isn't it?"  
  
Draco arched his eyebrows,  
  
"No. . ." he said slowly, "If my father was anything like he was, he'd take her to here,"  
  
He pointed to the piece of parchment again before biting a bite of the carrot again,  
  
"Where is this 'here'?" Mark questioned, turned the paper around so he could study it properly, "Do you have any idea?"  
  
Draco chewed the carrot thoughtfully,  
  
"Yes," he finally answered, "It's on the Yorkshire moors - nasty place. All mist and rain, it's deserted really,"  
  
Harry ran his fingers through his messy hair - that would make a lot of sense.  
  
"What should we do then?"  
  
Dumbledore hadn't said anything up until then but he had somehow voiced what everyone seemed to be thing,  
  
Draco sighed.  
  
"We go at dawn or very early morning," he stated, placing the carrot back down on the plate, "They won't be expecting us then,"  
  
~*~  
  
Harry pulled the cloak around him tighter.  
  
Something had woken him up.  
  
For once, he wasn't having any nightmares instead a relaxing, but slightly odd, dream. He desperately tried to find it, or at least remember it, but it was slipping further and further away. The more he ran after it, the faster it sped went.  
  
Grumbling crossly, he pulled his cloak up onto his shoulder and turned around and rested his temple on the wings of the large chair he was * trying * to sleep in.  
  
Someone yanked his cloak off again just as he was slipping away back to sleep,  
  
"Buggar off," he mumbled cracking an eyelid and scanning the floor around him groggily for a sign of his warm excuse for a blanket. He had forgotten too late that he had several hard and heavy things in that cloak.  
  
"Is someone a little cranky when they wake up,"  
  
One single thought floated into his mind and it didn't inspire much happiness - Maria.  
  
"Get lost," he barked pulling his legs up onto the chair and trying to ignore the person sent to wake him up,  
  
Suddenly the chair he was dosing on changed back into the piece of tissue he had changed it from,  
  
"Ow," he murmured lamely, rubbing his hip where he had landed. Through half closed eyes, he squinted up and the grinning figures of his work colleagues,  
  
"Get up," Maria said softly, pointing at the still asleep Hermione though now she had her head on Ron's lap, "The love birds are still in the land of nod,"  
  
That didn't quite compute yet with Harry when he had less than three hours sleep,  
  
"Here," Mark bent down next to him when Harry was sitting on the floor leaning back on his palms and blinking furiously, "Drink this,"  
  
Despite the fact that they were up before the sun, Harry was still suspicious of the goblet that Mark had just given him,  
  
"What is it?"  
  
"Pepper-up potion," he answered somewhat proudly, "It'll make you as awake as me!"  
  
Not even bothering to pass a snide comment on the state that they were all in he, he took the goblet with out a word.  
  
Blinking back the tears that had sprouted when he had knocked the drink back, he stood up and brushed himself down. Then he remembered why he was here.  
  
He glanced at Draco. Even though he was technically free, they had still bound him up and he was on the sofa where he had somehow got the only settee that could fit a person with ease,  
  
"Do you think we can trust him?"  
  
Mark must have seen where he was looking and joined him, Draco was still asleep and noises of Ron and Hermione arising came from the corner,  
  
"We have no choice,"  
  
~*~ 


	15. The word 'Eww' will never mean the same ...

Disclaimer: Do I really have to go through this with you? Again? Ok, ok, Harry Potter is not mine. If it were I would not be slaving away at the hellhole- aka my school. *Deep Breath* Did I go over the top there?  
  
Special Thanks to Annison Crane for telling me the name of the song I wanted - thank you so much!!! It's now clogging up my entire play list on media player now!  
  
Is it just me, or does the lead singer out of the band 'Feeder' look like Remus Lupin? I just saw the video for their latest single and me and my friend both screamed (well, had a sharp intake of breath but that isn't quite as dramatic is it?).  
  
Chapter 15:  
  
Harry grimaced as he misplaced his foot again and felt all the murky water seep into his once remotely clean shoes and squelch around his socks. Around him he could see everyone else wasn't exactly thrilled to be in the middle of a stinking wasteland up to their eyes balls in.  
  
"I was pretty sure you said moor Malfoy," Ron grunted as he tried to keep his large feet in the narrow path and not exactly succeeding. Malfoy, clearly used to this terrain, lightly stepped over to him and smirked,  
  
"When I said moor I meant marshland,"  
  
Mark was stopped lunging at Draco by the fact that Maria tripped and had to grab his jacket to stay out of the festering water.  
  
"How long have we been walking?" Maria moaned, sitting down on what was barely recognisable as a rotting tree stump, "You can't even see the sun in this fog,"  
  
Harry squinted up into the sky or upwards where he supposed it was. She was right. There was no sunlight - only a dull light coming from everywhere. Harry stuffed his hands in his pockets and wriggled his toes to try and get some feeling back into the icy digits at the end of his feet.  
  
"This is the Ministry's elite fighting squad?" Draco replied scathing looking Maria up and down as she massaging her swollen feet and Ron as he pulled a shoe off and let all the water pour off, "It was a miracle that the Dark Lord was defeated-"  
  
"Shut up!" Harry snapped Draco's sarcasm finally getting to him, "Or I'll shut you up!"  
  
No one spoke for a moment before Maria cut in,  
  
"You try working on three hours sleep . . ."  
  
Harry rubbed his brow tiredly,  
  
"How much longer Malfoy-"  
  
"Draco," Draco corrected pushing his luck but not realising what he was doing was on a par with poking a sleeping dragon in the eye,  
  
"Just answer - where is the entrance?" Harry hissed.  
  
"She's sitting on it,"  
  
Everyone swung round to face Maria - she was the only female in the company as both Hermione and Dumbledore weren't here - who stood up as if it was burning hot. Unfortunately, she hadn't replaced her shoe,  
  
"Eww!" she screeched loudly and unusually girlish for her. However, she didn't not get the chance to say anymore as Draco clamped his hand around her mouth,  
  
"Do you think this place is sound proof?" he asked quietly but none the less venomously, "Trust me - they know if a Kelpie nested anywhere around here for a hundred miles they'd know,"  
  
Maria decided against elbowing him in the stomach and wiggled free instead and put her shoe back on silently scowling at Draco all the time.  
  
Ron didn't seem impressed by this, in fact, quite the opposite,  
  
"Then why did we come traipsing all around her in plain view?"  
  
Draco waggled a finger at his old school friend,  
  
"Now, now," he tutted, "This isn't a muggle bank- they don't have cameras,"  
  
Mark glanced at Ron and backed away when he started to see a muscle near his eye twitch.  
  
Harry was still rubbing his head - he could feel a migraine coming on.  
  
Draco must have seen that everyone except him had a wand and they were all making a circle around him like a pack of very hungry wolves. So he dropped the sneering to a minimum,  
  
"Don't worry - they don't know we're here-"  
  
No sooner as the words escaped his lips, the rotting carcass of the trees started to shaking and rising out of the ground like a ghost. Over the roaring it made and the disgusting sound of mud being ploughed out, Harry heard several swear words being thrown about.  
  
~*~  
  
Ever since they had taken her photograph, they had more or less left Ginny alone with the exception of insults thrown in when anyone walked past.  
  
Ginny didn't care. She threw some back not really bothered that they might just turn around and kill her. She didn't care.  
  
No one else did so why should she? This was where she was going to spend the rest of her days not, by the looks of things, there was going to be many of them.  
  
There was no way of knowing how long she had been here for there was no windows at all in her cell that she could see - only a small rectangle in the door way where a little light wafted in.  
  
Earlier on, she had peered through and listened to their conversations and after about five times when they pushed her back in; they put some charm on it. Now, whenever she touched the bars in the window, she'd get an electric shock.  
  
That caused many laughs after she had tried the first time though none on her part.  
  
Now they seemed to be staying in the area around her prison. There was no need - she absolutely no intention to try and escape but she remained hopeful nonetheless that they would do something stupid.  
  
So now she just hovered around the door, not touching it, and peering through at her captors for a chance to hear something useful.  
  
They were playing cards now - Lucius wanted to play poker but it turned out that the other two didn't know how to so now it was whist but they still forgot what were trumps half the time.  
  
Ginny peered through, getting as close as she dared to the bars, and watched whoever's back was to her and their set of cards.  
  
It was pathetic really but she didn't care. She felt cold, hungry and the constant worry of death hung around her shoulders like a very heavy backpack.  
  
Lucius looked up at her and muttered a few words. The next thing she knew was that she was thrown back and head her head on the slimy wall - hard.  
  
The last thing she saw was the black clouds around her eyes before she passed out.  
  
~*~  
  
Someone yanked her by her collar as if she was only a rag doll - that was how she felt and they dropped her on the chair and slapped her round her face.  
  
It didn't hurt as much now - she was numb with cold and the world seemed so bleary and uninviting she would jut sleep back to sleep again -  
  
Then they threw a bucket of water over her.  
  
Blinking the water out of her eyes furiously, she was greeted by the smirking face of Lucius Malfoy.  
  
"Glad to see you awake - finally,"  
  
Ginny gritted her teeth. With her consciousness came her hatred for him. She felt better now she had slept well - whatever she was it had cleared her head.  
  
He nodded to his lackeys either side of him and they disappeared out of the room and with them, a little of Ginny's fear.  
  
Lucius smirked down at her for no reason expect to past the time. Ginny just waited for whatever insults he was going to throw at her. She decided to break the silence first,  
  
"Isn't this the time where the bad guy explains his evil plot?" she stated a little too cockily but as it was he didn't notice as he was obviously dieing to explain the reasoning behind his plan.  
  
Swaggering over to her, he brought out his wand and undid the binding around her wrists, and bend down to her level and looked her straight in the eyes.  
  
Neither of them spoke and the only sound to be heard was the constant drip of whatever was coming of the walls.  
  
"This isn't one of your muggle films Ginny my sweet," he said slowly making her skin crawl, "They'll be know good guy coming to rescue you. Or, at least if he does, he won't be coming out again,"  
  
Ginny didn't give him the pleasure of knowing exactly how worried she was.  
  
"An eye for an eye,"  
  
Lucius returned to his feet, for no reason except to stare down at her, and looked pleased that Ginny didn't understand his statement.  
  
"Do you realise just how many innocent people your lover-boy has killed,"  
  
"Yeah," she scoffed, not even bothering to correct the big mistake in that statement "All those innocent Deatheaters,"  
  
The only thing that stopped Malfoy hitting her was that he was too busy stroking his ego,  
  
"You'd be surprised," he remarked scratching his chin idly, "Anyway, there are few of us left now and any new recruits seem to get caught within forty- eight hours. He has to pay Ginny - you understand,"  
  
She understood - too well.  
  
"What good will it do?" she wondered aloud, "Voldemort's dead-"  
  
"That's what you think!" he yelled, the ice in his voice shattering away to be replaced by anger, "He's not! He's always listening, watching and judging us!"  
  
She had always been kind of wary of his past and all the things he had done to her and her family but he had always been vindictive about the ways he got to them.  
  
Now he petrified her.  
  
He seemed capable of killing her without a second of remorse not bothering that he would not longer have any bait.  
  
Ginny opened her mouth to retort something but her brain didn't supply it - her mouth had gone dry and her throat had seized up.  
  
Lucius took some deep breaths,  
  
"You wouldn't understand," he hissed, using the heel of his shoe to take his anger out on a dead rat skull instead of her own, "If the person who killed him was dead, he would come back,"  
  
Ginny swallowed,  
  
"That's were you come in," he smirked, "And he will reward me above all others!"  
  
"Wh-w-what about Draco?" she asked, stuttering slightly - being faced with a cackling megalomaniac can do that to you.  
  
"How did you know about him?" he asked sharply, stopping his manic laughing at once,  
  
"I heard the other men talking about it," she answered well aware that he was now circling her. She might as well have been tighter down to the chair - she wasn't going to get up.  
  
"Fools!"  
  
A shadow of a smile flicked on Ginny's face for a moment although she regretted it as she felt the bruise on her left cheek. It looked like someone was going to be in some trouble.  
  
"Well, while we're on the subject," he continued, composure regained, "Why don't you hazard a guess?"  
  
When she was younger, she was never really that good at English so now, when she had less than three hours sleep, her imagination wasn't at his best.  
  
"Erm, you want him out of prison?"  
  
A cruel laugh rang through the dungeon and rattled around in her brain for a long time after,  
  
"Really," he stopped to chuckle for a moment, "You still think I actually want the boy out for his own good?"  
  
She wouldn't ever admit it out loud but she really wanted to hear this,  
  
"He never like dark arts," Lucius continued, taking Ginny silence as a cue to carry on, "He's smart as well - mores the pity. No, I wanted him out for no reason except to kill him myself,"  
  
~*~  
  
After they last spoke, Lucius left Ginny to wallow in the pool of her self- pity for a couple of hours while he sat outside with his friends. He seemed to be watching them making sure nothing else slipped out.  
  
They were playing cards again now though not very successfully. Lucius still wanted to play polka but no matter how many times he went over the rules, they still forgot how to play,  
  
The group of three men were sitting around a very old and mouldy looking wooden table and the only source of light was a flaming touch on the wall near them.  
  
"Eww!"  
  
Dropping his cards almost lazily, Lucius looked up at Ginny,  
  
"Can you please stop that," he drawled over as his partners sniggered. Ginny scowled - that wasn't her and it couldn't be any of them, as it sounded very girly,  
  
"*I* didn't say any thing-" Ginny snapped angrily but as soon as the words came out of her mouth she regretted it.  
  
The effect was instant.  
  
All of her captors shot up as if the seat of their pants were on fire and swept off except one who stayed and grinned at her menacingly.  
  
Whoever was up there, she realised, could be the people to could maybe save her. Great - she just blew their cover. Some friend she would be.  
  
The tow thugs ran out of Ginny's sight quickly, knocking the table and all the drink on there onto the floor, and Lucius rose slowly and walked closer and closer to her cell door.  
  
Ginny took a step back, caught her heel on a rock and went crashing to the floor.  
  
Scrambling desperately away, she heard a cruel laugh and the door being slammed open. He stood in the doorway for a moment before taking three strides and grabbing her by the scruff of her neck and dragging her onto her feet.  
  
"I've found a better job for you darling," he grinned down at her menacingly before knocking her out.  
  
~*~  
  
"Ah,"  
  
Mark was the first to react to Draco's comment,  
  
"Ah?" he snapped, pushed Maria off him who fell into the water with a strangled cry and walked over to Draco and grabbed his shirt roughly, "What do you mean 'ah'?"  
  
No one came to his rescue.  
  
Draco pushed him off and into the marsh that surrounded them,  
  
"Don't you see," he yelled over the wind that suddenly arrived that was throwing every ones hair about and pointing to where the tree stump was,  
  
"They know we're here-" everyone looked at Maria, who just smiled charmingly though backing away slowly,  
  
"That's the door!"  
  
No one reacted until the wind died down and the sound of hundreds of bolts being drawn across magically.  
  
Panic flooded Maria's face as she pulled her shoes on tighter; Ron swallowed nervously and gripped his wand tighter whereas Mark merely stretched some shoulder muscles.  
  
"Go!" Draco bellowed at them, "Do you want them to know you're here? They only heard a noise - not how many there were here!"  
  
Everyone woke up and dived into the bushes just as the door/tree swung open - everyone except Draco who was held back by Harry who had grabbed his collar.  
  
~*~  
  
"If we get out of here Malfoy-" he hissed out of the side of his mouth as they started binding his wrist together and searching him for any weapons,  
  
"When," Draco corrected, standing in front of Harry with his wrists already bound,  
  
"When we get out of here," Harry growled as one of them pushed him harder into the manky table, "You had better run far 'cos I'll be the one chasing you!"  
  
Draco just shrugged and inspected the room from where he was - he didn't look at all surprised to find that they seemed to be in some kind of medieval dungeon - they even had flaming torches to light up the place.  
  
From what he what he could see, with his face pressed against the wet table, they appeared to be underground and the only window he could find was near the ceiling.  
  
"C'mon," some said gruffly behind him before yanking to his feet and pushing him towards the door, "There's someone waiting for you,"  
  
However it was, neither Draco nor Harry looked exactly pleased about seeing them.  
  
~*~  
  
Suddenly the pushing and shoving stopped and the both he and Draco fell to their knee and found their bounds undone.  
  
The sacks that had covered their heads before now were pulled off roughly and a small popping sound followed. After Harry had finished hissing at the light he squinted around.  
  
Those thugs had gone.  
  
Draco was on his feet almost at once,  
  
"This is not good,"  
  
Harry looked up from his raw wrists and squinted around the room. This room was much, well there was no other word for it, nicer than the rest of this place he had seen.  
  
There was actually light around here with lamps sitting on varnished tables and dark rugs covered the scrubbed stone floor. Several pictures filled the walls he noted as Draco pulled him to his feet.  
  
"Why is this not good?" he asked though regretted after. What was really good about this whole situation?  
  
They both stood in silence,  
  
"There's no way out," Draco said simply as the pair of them glanced around for a door or window that might just suddenly appear out of nowhere. The room itself was circular and Harry couldn't even see where they had come in,  
  
"There's no way out,"  
  
Harry frowned,  
  
"Then there's no way in,"  
  
"I wouldn't be too sure about that,"  
  
His frown turned into a scowl. Draco went off and tried to look for an escape route - behind pictures, under the rugs he tried everywhere while Harry was some how drawn to a table on the side.  
  
His mind was already tired and weak from lack of food and sleep so when his brain went blank and carefree he couldn't fight it.  
  
Reaching forward with his mud encrusted hand; he touched the portrait in front of him lightly.  
  
The fact that it was a portrait of a man clad in black and green clothes didn't worry him in the slightest - clothes were clothes as far as his numbed brain was concerned.  
  
As soon as his fingertips brushed the silver pendant on the subject's cloak, a hole appeared and after a couple of seconds of morphing on the pictures side, a door appeared.  
  
Open it, something whispered in his mind, Open it.  
  
For a moment, his real self fought out of his minds prison and managed to send a loud enough warning. He stopped and closed his out stretched fingers.  
  
Finally, the spell wore off and Harry shook his head crossly. Nothing like that had happened since his forth year - he wasn't in control then and he had nearly done something stupid. Deciding against asked Draco to slap him, he rubbed his eyes.  
  
The words 'Open it, open it,' still rung in his head like ghosts as he tried in vain to clear his head. It had been so tempting - hat was what had scared him. How far would he have gone?  
  
But the door was still here. Looking over his shoulder, his little dilemma had seemed to gone unnoticed by Draco who was still searching for another escape route.  
  
Three hours of sleep can make you do very foolish things, and unfortunately for us Harry had only had two hours of sleep so when he reached forward and yanked the door open, the only thing he was thinking about was the look he was going to give Draco when he found a way out first.  
  
"Harry, don't!"  
  
Behind him he only just caught the yell that Malfoy shouted before the door slammed shut.  
  
Realising his foolishness too late, Harry looked up at the stairs in front of him. He had two choices: Stay here and be found or go and find. Of course, he was half way through the second choice before his brain had even thought about taking the first one.  
  
Finally, he reached he top of the stone steps, panting slightly,  
  
Harry looked up and found himself in another room and at the windowsill sat Ginny.  
  
If he had been closer, he would have seen the tears streaming down her face and the rope binding her wrists together.  
  
All he could think about was the way her red hair fell in curls around her shoulders and how he just wanted to make the bruises on her skin go away.  
  
As it was he only just saw the look of fear of something behind him she was sending before a door shut behind him,  
  
"Glad you could come Mr. Potter,"  
  
~*~  
  
Authors Note:  
  
Well, I, uh, hope you enjoyed it. 


	16. Remember you like the author

Hello everyone! I know your all-expecting chapter 16 of Shadows of the Past but alas, its not coming today. Or for a while.  
  
First of all I would like to thanks all my reviewers - you guys kept me going when on more than one occasion I wanted to take the easy route and delete the story. It's not being deleted nor do I plan to until the apocalypse or something like that.  
  
I'll say it again:  
  
THIS FIC IS NOT BEING REMOVED  
  
All I'm doing is just warning you in advance that it won't be updated very often (not that it was before) because:  
  
I'm on holiday - I do not speak Greek so therefore cannot ask directions to the nearest internet café.  
  
I'm missing the week of revision before the end of year exams because of this holiday so I need to revise cos I want to stay in my Science set and need to revise for that one especially. Its cos of this fic I need to do that cos I wrote fan fiction instead of homework.  
  
LET THAT BE A WARNING - GO AND DO YOUR HOMEWORK YOUNG LADY/GENTLEMAN NOW!  
  
Writer's block (damn it!)  
  
So if anyone is desperate for the beginning bit (which is, oh, a paragraph) just tell me  
  
Damn I'm so sorry but there will definitely be no updates for at least two weeks (see above).  
  
Thanks again for all your support and/or ideas  
  
Your very sad and sorry,  
  
Opal Star 


	17. I Like You Already

Disclaimer: Do I really have to go through this with you? Again? Ok, ok, Harry Potter is not mine. If it were I would not be slaving away at the hellhole- aka my school. *Deep Breath* Did I go over the top there?  
  
Note: And a big hi to all those lovely reviewers - though I think some of you are dieing and yes my exams are over and we'll have to wait if I'll be moving down in my Science group. A1 to A2 is not good. Maybe I should shut- up you know, I mean I tell you guys all my problems - do you think that shows anything?  
  
Chapter 16:  
  
Mark had to sit on Ron when Maria explained to him exactly who it was they were trying to rescue and even then, Mark had a hard time keeping him down,  
  
"WHY DIDN'T YOU TELL ME?????!!!" Ron roared surprising loudly considering that he had a fully-grown man holding him down and squeezing all the oxygen out of his lungs.  
  
Maria was desperately trying to calm him down and knelt by him ignoring all the murky water that found its way through her trousers and onto her knees. She was going to kill Harry when she saw him - he didn't explain to Ron that it was his sister that they were saving but then again, Maria didn't know why Ron didn't already know.  
  
"Quiet!" she hissed covering his mouth with her hand and looking around in the mist as if hundreds of Lucius Malfoy's would come over the horizon, "They're barely six feet under us,"  
  
Mark grinned at Ron's face,  
  
"Excuse the pun,"  
  
Ron growled and tried to push him off but failed and Maria removed her hand - he seemed to have calmed down. More than that in fact - he now looked like he was going to cry something that none of them needed. Her partner picked up on someone else's emotions for once and stood up leaving Ron to pull himself up on to a sitting position.  
  
Maria straightened up and stared down at Ron with something she thought she would never use on someone she liked - pity.  
  
"Look," Maria said matter-of-factly and catching his attention, "I don't know what you did to your sister-"  
  
"I yelled at her,"  
  
Mark joined in Maria's puzzlement and looked down at him just waiting for him to explain. Ron glanced up at the two Auroras and they saw the uneasiness in his eyes. Mark was the first to crack,  
  
"You yelled at her?" he asked a small smile tugging at his lips, "I yell at people all the time. What was special about this yell?"  
  
In other situations Maria would have hit him for being so insensitive but Ron was taking so long telling them whatever reason him and his sister fell out she didn't bother.  
  
"I blamed her for our parents death,"  
  
Something about that triggered a memory in both their minds - Harry had already mentioned something about this and what did before. That was the reason that she didn't like him before - she had seen this Ginny before though at a distance and she seemed as if nothing could touch her. Or at least nothing negative. And she knew that Harry always hid behind the whole I'm-in-a-dangerous-job-and-I-don't-want-people-at-risk thing and this girl had been the first one to get through it.  
  
"You bastard,"  
  
Ron looked a little better after she had said that.  
  
~*~  
  
"Glad you could come Mr. Potter,"  
  
Ginny stared at the ropes that were binding her wrists together and closed her eyes in a vain attempt to block out the world around her. Her eyelids hurt, everything hurt for that matter. Her arms, her face, her legs, her head all ached but most of all her heart.  
  
She ought to be panicked but she wasn't, a sort of ice-cold calmness replaced any emotions she may have felt before at the sight of Harry walking into a trap. A trap she could have prevented if she had a brain. She was so stupid, the feeling that she was a total waste of oxygen returned to her for not the first time in her life.  
  
Harry figured it out in a second and Ginny could feel his gaze on her and she concentrated more on the rope binding her.  
  
Lucius raised his wand and muttered something - Ginny couldn't hear what because she had blocked out er hearing.  
  
Harry collapsed on the floor though she didn't hear - just saw it out of the corner of her eye - writhing in agony his wand just barley a foot away from his reach. Lucius kicked it out of the way into the shadows and Ginny watched it slide away into the darkness with her hope.  
  
Lucius waved his hand and some more magical bolts drew across, the rust on the locks scraping all the way but doing nothing to wake Ginny out of her stupor.  
  
This is where I'm going to die, she thought, alone with the people I love knowing I betrayed them.  
  
~*~  
  
Draco looked up the staircase in front of him, squinting up into the darkness searching for any sign of well, anyone. It had all happened so quickly he wasn't even sure what had happened himself.  
  
All he remembered was that he was trying to find something - he had no idea what just something - that might help them whether it was a wand or a sword or just some food, anything. He had been concentrating on finding this thing that he only looked up lazily to see how Potter was doing.  
  
That was when he saw it.  
  
The door closing, slowly but there was no way he would reach it in time though he tried. As much as he hated Potter, that was just it. He did hate Potter and he liked it that way, what was the fun of hating a memory? Snape had made that mistake and looked what happened to him - swinging from hate to guilt only to take out his feelings on the son of the person he hated.  
  
But all these thoughts happened at once and a split second later he was chasing the closing door. He might have yelled though if he ever looked back at those sequence of events every again in his mind, he would edit it out though whatever he did it didn't stop Potter.  
  
Gryffindor's, he mused, all the same. Courageous they may be but Slytherin's at least had the sense to plan ahead.  
  
All the same, if his little Auror friends or that Weasel's brother got their hands on him anytime soon, there would be hell to pay.  
  
Those thugs as well, where had they got? If the group where still outside then how could they get to him or indeed Harry and his girlfriend? This had gone way out of plan but now he thought about it, there had been no plan to start with.  
  
Draco dropped to his knees and kneaded his head with his knuckles. He had all to many reasons to believe that all the people in this team were damn Gryffindor's which showed through with the stupid situation that they were now in.  
  
Two of them were with his father (he gave them an hour tops), three of them were outside in the stinking wasteland no doubt being either enticed by Kelpies or beaten to death by those two thugs.  
  
Hermione and Dumbledore it seemed were the only two with a little sense and they were little over, oh, a hundred miles away and he had already tried apparating and got a nasty bruise for his efforts. If he tried, he could find a way of contacting them but as he looked around the room he noticed something -  
  
The windows around the top of the walls were barely half a foot above the ground.  
  
That could help.  
  
~*~  
  
"What's taking so long?"  
  
Hermione was jumping up and down, then sitting, and then returning to her pacing. Dumbledore smiled for what seemed the twentieth time and tried again to calm her,  
  
"They've been gone two hours Miss. Granger. It takes an hour and a half alone to get there,"  
  
This didn't help in the slightest, really did not help at all. She just paused, looked like she was considering calming down a little then went back to her twitching only this time worse. There was nothing left of their here - only Draco's wand which she had managed to lift from the Department Of Law Enforcement over five hours ago.  
  
It seemed like an age away since she was chatting up the security man that was guarding the storeroom like an over grown bulldog.  
  
The mere memory of what she had to do was enough to make her fall onto one of the chairs and groan into her aching hands.  
  
Why didn't she go with them? Why did she have to go to sleep just before they went? And why was she still tired? Despite all the possible deaths going on around in her imagination, she couldn't help but picture the huge pile of marking she had to finish when she got back.  
  
This was not good.  
  
Knowing Harry and for that matter Malfoy, they would probably bicker then just stay away from each other. That would mean that Harry would do something daft and Malfoy might be left completely defenceless because here she was with his wand.  
  
His wand.  
  
Why hadn't she thought of this before?  
  
If he had his wand, it could help or it could just make things a lot worse. If Lucius were talking to Draco or Harry at the same moment that the wand came in, he would know that there were some external forces helping. She had to do it though, whatever the risks - it was just ridiculous sending Draco out there without his wand, he grew up with this life of darkness. Hermione had a strong feeling it was Ron who had stopped him from taking it.  
  
As much as she loved him, he could be annoying like that - didn't trust Malfoy as far as he could throw him though she didn't feel very differently.  
  
But that wasn't the point. There was no way on this earth that Dumbledore was going to let her do a Locating Charm and sent Draco Malfoy his wand over what could be miles and miles of Muggle's. For one thing it could be seen though if it went high enough that wasn't likely. On the other hand, there was the possibility of it getting caught by a stray airplane and getting incinerated.  
  
A person had only one wand - the wand was as unique to them as their DNA and very often they felt connected like without their wand they were not a whole being. Hermione hoped that being split off from it for a while didn't make Malfoy want his wand more because she had faced people that had had the one thing they had to lose lost and it wasn't pretty.  
  
She had to bide her time anyway. Maybe there was some kind of alcohol in this place - as much as she did not want to see her old headmaster drunk it was their only hope.  
  
~*~  
  
"Take her out."  
  
Lucius nodded to the men behind Harry but he didn't care. All he could think about was his friends, Malfoy and most of all Ginny.  
  
He was on his knees before Lucius with a broken nose, hands tied and the blood dripping steadily off the tip of his nose staining the floor in front. His broken right wrist he cradled in his arm keeping it out of Lucius' sight like the coward he was.  
  
If he had a backbone he would have stood proud and tall like his father and fought for the people he loved. But he didn't. He took it. Took all the hits, all the blows and all the curses not even uttering a word of power.  
  
He could feel Ginny stare as she was taken away but he didn't want to look at her - how could he? He had let her down, disappointed her and now this mistake was going to be his last.  
  
"Get up." He ordered down at Harry, who didn't react, then after a moment yanked him by his collar onto his feet. For a deranged lunatic, Lucius Malfoy had some strength in him and he forced Harry to look at him,  
  
"Rest assured Potter," he spat not trying to keep the anger out of his expressions, "They'll take good care of Ginny before she dies."  
  
Harry struggled out of his grip but his strength deserted him under the vice grip around his neck. Fifteen minutes he had been in here and for ten out of those fifteen he had had the Cruciatus Curse on him over and over again. It was all he could do to stop screaming out loud.  
  
"No!"  
  
Harry glanced back jut in time to see Ginny being led down stairs and for one perfect moment her brown eyes met his and he understood her. The tears were still there; the cuts and bruises were still there, the same weaknesses but she was ready - ready for what he was yet to see.  
  
"Just like you father," he hissed in Harry face, "Trying to save everyone. I see the Potter taste in partners hasn't got any better - are red heads a traditional choice Potter?"  
  
Harry let the door shut before he answered using it to calm down.  
  
"I really wouldn't know." Harry spat in his face using the last of his energy up quickly.  
  
Who was he to talk about his family like that? It was because of him and the people he associated with that he didn't know these kinds of things.  
  
Lucius' face contorted with suppressed anger and punch Harry in the stomach. Harry didn't give him the pleasure of knowing exactly how much that hurt. Lucius moved away and unfortunately for Harry, he happened to be holding him up slightly so with his hands behind his back he fell forward onto his broken wrist.  
  
"Want to know how long I've wanted to do that?"  
  
Harry didn't want to know but he was in no position to tell him other wise.  
  
"Ever since I've known you father - was since I was ten. You're just like him and I knew how to hut him and I know how to hurt you. Why, even your girlfriends look the same and look what happened to her."  
  
Harry gritted his teeth and looked at the floor just as Lucius' knee connected with his chin. It was all Harry could do to stop falling over again but still stars danced in front of his eyes. Mark would have known what to do, he thought stupidly, mark was muggle born and did self defence until his eleventh birthday but the Dursley had never taken him swimming let alone a place to learn how to hurt people.  
  
Something in Lucius face changed - he became calmer and silent which to Harry was worse than the yelling and the hitting he had received earlier. The man bend down to Harry's level but somehow Harry had to look up to stare him in the yes. Lucius tilted his head to one side and smirked.  
  
"I shouldn't worry about her too much," he whispered in Harry's ear as he twisted the wrist around making several things crack, "You'll be seeing what's left of her soon enough,"  
  
Harry gasped in pain and tried to blink back the tears making Lucius laugh even more as he stood up. This wasn't the first time he was feeling pain, and it wasn't even the worst, but every single time he had faced Voldemort, he knew why he was doing it - to rule again and kill him. But with Lucius, he could see that he wanted it kill him but Harry couldn't see the reasoning behind all of this.  
  
"Why?"  
  
"Do you think I'm going to tell you?" Lucius spat down at him, kicking Harry's kneecap viciously, "I don't expect you to even understand. To you every person's life is important, valued even. But to me its different people can be owned, can be property."  
  
Harry frowned as more blood dripped softly of the end of his nose.  
  
~*~  
  
Draco sat in the middle of the room, eyes closed, crossed-legged on the rug just thinking. One of the few things he had been taught that seemed to apply in the real world by his father that nothing was too difficult for the brain - it was all just locked up. So now Draco was trying to find a way to unlock it.  
  
No plan had come yet no matter how relaxed he got himself and every situation he thought of always ended in someone dieing or worse.  
  
Think, he urged himself, think!  
  
But it was no use. All the blankness he had given his mind seeped away like water running through his hands. It was like telling yourself to sleep - you just couldn't do it. The more it slipped away, the angrier Draco got and the angrier Draco got, the quicker it went.  
  
Nevertheless, when he finally came completely back to consciousness, it was a shock the find himself sweating like he had run for miles. Ever time he managed to get close to some kind of idea he would hear himself at the end of his fifth year - "Your dead Potter!" - over and over again. The remark Harry shot back never quite echo though.  
  
Draco shuddered. This place was cold but he was used to cold. Maybe why he couldn't quite slip in semi-consciousness was because he felt like someone was watching him. Without moving his head, he looked around him - nothing except that stupid portrait, the cause of all this and why Draco had to resort to actual planning.  
  
As much as he had a go at all these people for not having a plan, he wasn't any better - the only reason he seemed to have a plan was because he lied more than he breathed.  
  
But this was the only way. It Draco didn't get Harry it wasn't just the authorities that would want his skin, it was his friends. Weasley and the Mudblood he had seen angry but that Auror man looked pretty violent without much provoking. Those Crabbe and Goyle look-alikes were starting to worry him though, for their bulky size they seem to be invisible at this moment.  
  
Draco shrugged off the feeling - after all he was a Malfoy still had some of the Malfoy pride in him.  
  
He had every suspicion in the world that his father was going to play dirty - real dirty. What are rules made for except to be broken by people (i.e. affluent people)? Wit the right amount of money and power and rules can be twisted and mangled.  
  
Draco rubbed his with his dirty hand, he could stilt feel where the ropes had been and was wishing desperately for a glass of water. The sandwiches that Hermione had made seemed a long time ago.  
  
There was nothing to do except plan now. He flexed his shoulders and rolled his neck around before closing his eyes again. He ignored his stomach rubbing and that incessant tapping somewhere above him.  
  
~*~  
  
"Great! So what are we supposed to do now?"  
  
Ron had been saying more or less the same thing for the past hour or more. Maria, for the first half an hour, was feeling kind of understanding for once - this poor guy had seen his best friend and his only sister for possibility the last time. But now it had gone beyond annoying.  
  
Harry and Maria once had to deal with a woman whose son and daughter had been kidnapped and would not stop making daisy chains. By the time Mark and his partner had retrieved the children, the chain was over five metres long. That, before now, had been her worst ever shock victim. Ron Weasley, however, had now taken that spot.  
  
Mark scratched his neck for the fifth time in two minutes. That was a bad sign.  
  
"Ron," she soothed forcefully and grabbing his jacket, "Just sit down! We've only been here an hour."  
  
That was a lie. By her watch they had been here 2 hours, twenty-six minutes and counting. There was still no sign of either Harry, Draco or, most scary of all, those human boulders. Ron sighed heavily and flounced to the ground next to Maria looking completely wretched. Maria couldn't help still feeling sorry for him though a small part of her wished that there were some daisies in the area.  
  
"It's just been so long!" Ron explained, receiving a soft punch on the shoulder from Mark to be quiet. He continued in a softer voice, "Does it usually take this, you know, this long?"  
  
Maria forced a smile on her face,  
  
"Depends. If they came out in ten minutes I'd be worried."  
  
Ron seemed a little better after that but all the same he kept staring up at the building behind them. Even in this light-that-wasn't-quite-light, it was so big that the top merged with the fog into nothing. Or it could have just been thick fog.  
  
"Do you want to explore a bit?" Ron asked.  
  
Both of them looked as if he was crazy. There was this little mad glint in his eye that wasn't there before. Mark trod carefully,  
  
"Why?"  
  
Ron grinned,  
  
"Look," he pointed to something near the bottom of the building. Maria squinted and saw it was nothing more than a small barred window - no way they could get in without making noise. "Ginny might be in there,"  
  
"Yeah," Mark replied with heavy sarcasm, "So might the rocks,"  
  
Ron didn't figure it out for a second but frowned.  
  
"So that's a no to the exploring?"  
  
Basic Rule Number 6 of the 'How To Survive Auror Life' was 'Never leave an area where your friends know you are or that is safe.' That was just a shorten version, the real book donated a page and a half to all two hundred and three of its rules.  
  
"That's a hell no."  
  
Ron look offended, then angry, then stood up very swiftly and started marching up to where this window was. It all happened so quickly that neither of them had time it react to what happened.  
  
A wand came flying through the air and hit Ron and the side of the head sending both him and the wand towards the floor. Maria shot out of the bushes Mark sniggered for a while before helping Maria drag Ron up into a seating position. It was a wonder that Ron didn't cry out in shock - that wand came out of nowhere pretty fast. Maria bent forward to pick it up.  
  
Peering at it through the limited light, she saw it was made out of dark wood. Not being a wand maker herself, she didn't know what was in it or anything. Every little child is taught one thing about wands in the wizarding world - the wand reflects the person's character.  
  
Now for the tough question: Who did she know that was dark and in the area?  
  
"Malfoy,"  
  
Ron looked up dazed and rubbing his head,  
  
"What about that git?" he grumbled.  
  
Mark made no effort to correct him,  
  
"This is his wand," Maria explained frowning, "But how-"  
  
"Hermione."  
  
~*~  
  
Draco still could not concentrate. For one thing his stomach was rumbling again but he could ignore that and his lack of sleep - that wasn't what was annoying him. It was that constant tapping again.  
  
For the past five minutes he was trying to ignore it without much success.  
  
With his limited imagination, he could think of just three reasons behind the tapping. One: Harry was trying to get out in which case a bit of ignorance on Draco's part wouldn't go amiss. Two: Owl Post was late. Or three: That something had-  
  
A magically magnified voice boomed around the room and even then he couldn't help but open his eyes.  
  
"Will you quit your yoga and wake up Malfoy you little -"  
  
~*~  
  
"Keep tapping then," she hissed, poking him in the back only to receive a frown, "He might be asleep!"  
  
Ron turned back to his tapping while Maria looked around in case those other Deatheaters come back. Mark, on the other hand, was just in a mood because he didn't see the point of not just opening it by magic and slipping through. Maria just had the feeling that Mark wanted to hit Malfoy though.  
  
Ron sniggered,  
  
"What?" Maria asked irritably not wanting one of Ron's jokes again. But nothing of that came. She peered over his shoulder only to see that he had rubbed all the murk and creatures of the window and looking through. What was so funny though, she had no idea.  
  
"Malfoy," he gasped now even interesting Mark, "He's doing yoga!"  
  
Trying to keep a smirk down she glanced at her partner. He was smirking even though he hadn't even seen it yet and even Maria couldn't help but find Draco Malfoy in the lotus position funny.  
  
"Just keep tapping," she ordered, attempting to keep her voice straight if only for the sake of these two.  
  
Shaking his head Ron returned to banging the tip of Malfoy's wand on the end. Maria was slightly worried - Harry had mentioned about wands going off by accident and apparently wizards had lost their behinds in previous years due to foolishness.  
  
Suddenly, Ron's voice boomed over the landscape, making Maria jump out of her skin and making the fragile glass shatter everywhere.  
  
"Will you quit your yoga and wake up Malfoy you little -"  
  
He trailed off because Mark had his hands around his neck.  
  
~*~  
  
For a moment, Draco couldn't figure out the noise that followed the speech - when he did he grinned his vampire smile. Still in no kind of rush, he remained sitting down, cross-legged on top of the high quality rugs.  
  
He glanced up at the window, which had smashed because of the noise, and he thought of a suitable comment to throw at Weasley when he poked his stupid head through. He had recognised his voice at once away, apart from anything, those other Aurors had to remain impartial - not that had stopped Potter on some occasions.  
  
But Weasley didn't poke his freckled face through - that Mary girl did. He toned his comment down a little,  
  
"You could have knocked,"  
  
She didn't rise to it like every one else did, she merely grinned,  
  
"You realise you look like a vampire bat when you sit like that,"  
  
Draco stood up slowly and brushed himself down a tad unnecessarily and looked right into her eyes as he arranged his prison uniform into a better position,  
  
"Thus the basis of its appeal,"  
  
She laughed for the first time and Draco couldn't help smiling - apart from Pansy's fawning and cackling, that was the first time someone had actually laughed at a joke. He gave her a lopsided grin and kicked a piece of glass out of his way,  
  
"You lot must be Gryffindor's," he muttered to no one in particular, "Total lack of planning - look at the mess for god's sake,"  
  
He reached the window and The-Mary-girl just offered her hand to pull him through which he took  
  
"Actually," she said looking down at him, he noticed a gash across the side of her face, "I was in Ravenclaw."  
  
With their combined efforts they managed to get him through - he ignored Weasley and the other Auror fighting and replied,  
  
"I like you already,"  
  
~*~  
  
"What was that?" Lucius snapped. Harry looked up; he had forgotten his ears worked. That sounded like Ron. At least it was Ron's exaggerated voice that he had heard but he thought it was just him that could hear it.  
  
"Nott!" Malfoy yelled and almost a second later one of the human rocks appeared at his side, "What was that?"  
  
Even with Nott's obvious limited number of facial expressions, Harry could still tell that he was nervous and Lucius picked up on it. It was quite amazing to see this mass of human shaking slightly at the sight of Lucius who, widthways was half the size.  
  
"Look after Potter," he spat after a moment with no answer, "Don't let him out of your sight,"  
  
This Deatheater nodded fervently at the prospect of doing something right. With one last dirty look at Harry, Lucius swept out of the room leaving Harry and this Human Rock alone in the room. This suited Harry just fine. It would give him time to figure out what exactly was wrong with him.  
  
But as soon as he lifted his hand to his swollen eye making the Deatheater grunted a spell and again Harry was bound together at his wrists, knees and ankles. He hit the floor on his left temple and the world clouded over. He didn't care if he didn't wake up - ever.  
  
The last thing he heard was another grunt though whether it was a word Harry had no idea but his mind was far to preoccupied.  
  
~*~  
  
"Ginny!"  
  
Ginny looked up to find her brother staring back at her. All her strength seemed to return to her and all the cold ebbed away slightly though only for a split second. She shook her head and turned around. This was madness. She was going crazy - she was seeing her brother for the fist time in years. Ron hated her - he would be in London no doubt at a desk job drinking tea and eating muffins in a warm office.  
  
And blaming and hating her. Maybe this was what Askanban was like.  
  
"Ginny you idiot - we don't have much time!"  
  
"Ron?" she croaked, unable to believe her luck, "Is that-"  
  
"Yes, yes," he rushed dangling a hand down through the bars, "Can you move?"  
  
Ginny tried but had to hold back a scream - her ankle was broken, the same ankle she broke in her fifth year. Even if she didn't have any broken bones, she felt she couldn't - she was on the last of her energy and a step felt like SO much effort.  
  
"My ankle is broken,"  
  
Several people swore and Ron's face was pushed out of the way to be replaced by another woman's face,  
  
"Hello Ginny," she whispered, removing all the bars in one swoop with her wand and slipping through, "Mind if I join you?"  
  
Ginny was just glad to see magic again. She was still sure however that she had imagined Ron's face.  
  
~*~  
  
"Does it hurt anymore?"  
  
Ginny smiled and shook her head. Apparently, this woman was an Auror but she couldn't heal very well - the broken ankle was the best she could so. Ginny didn't care, all the other cuts and bruises were superficial and now she could walk, run! She shot up and ran to the window,  
  
"Hey!" Maria called quietly, "Easy on the ankle!"  
  
They both gazed up at the window, it was high up but Ginny didn't care how they got out, it didn't matter if that Ron was a figment of her imagination - at least there was fresh air out there. The sound of two sets of fast footsteps caught her attention and her heart sank, she had forgotten that there was a Malfoy here.  
  
Maria looked around desperately and that bars had reappeared at the window,  
  
"Shit," she muttered, "Sit down and pretend to be unconscious,"  
  
Having spent the past couple of hours not pretending, Ginny slipped into the role quite easily. Out of the corner of her eyes, she saw the Auror fall silently into the shadows that lay behind her.  
  
Then the door slammed open and the rushed footsteps slowed down as they came closer and closer,  
  
"Weasley," he spat, "Is there something you want to tell me?"  
  
Sleeping, she reminded herself, sleeping, sleeping.  
  
That couldn't work for long, Lucius stepped forward and shook her awake and when Ginny opened her eyes she came face to face with a livid Lucius Malfoy. She didn't need to feign the panic and fear in her eyes, she really was scared of him and couldn't stand the feel of his hands on her arms as he pinned her on the chair.  
  
~*~  
  
"What are we supposed to do now?" Ron hissed for the second time in ten minutes. He didn't take all the dirty looks he was receiving as a hint. It seemed that he just couldn't stay still, "Couldn't we find Harry?"  
  
Mark looked up at Ron and grinned - it was about time this actual rescue mission included some rescuing. Mark mentioned this to Ron as they wound their way around to where Draco was earlier on,  
  
"But you rescued me!"  
  
Both Ron and Mark ignored him as they pressed on. Things had taken a nasty turn for Draco when Maria (he had found out her name) had gone - now it appeared that she was the only one who liked him. Then again, did he really want the friendship of Weasley and one of Potter's other friends?  
  
"Here Malfoy, is this it?"  
  
Draco squinted down at the broken glass and mangled bars,  
  
"Have you broken any other windows?"  
  
Mark smiled,  
  
"Right lets go," and a second later he had slipped through. Draco grimaced - it was bad enough going back to this place but with a Weasley and a rescue for Potter as well it seemed like someone was punishing him for something.  
  
He had absolutely no idea why though. What had he ever done?  
  
As if reading his thoughts Ron pushed him forward,  
  
"Cold feet Malfoy?"  
  
Draco just shot him a scathing look before sliding in and narrowly missing a pane of smashed glass.  
  
~*~  
  
"Okay," Ron whispered, looking around as if even the most innocent object could turn into a Deatheater, Draco bit his tongue, "What the plan?"  
  
"You? Plan Weasley?" he scoffed, "I thing the smog has gone to your head!"  
  
The tips of his ears went red,  
  
"Alright then," he replied taking a step forward, Draco was suddenly reminded why he like Maria - she didn't rise to the stabs he made, "Your Slytherin, your cunning, you plan!"  
  
Draco grinned evilly,  
  
"Finally, someone with a little sense!"  
  
Mark just rolled his eyes at the pair of them and started to insect the room, examining each object until Draco mentioned in passing that half the stuff in here was jinxed. There was a faded, dark portrait on the wall that he was dieing to inspect but resisted - everything in here stank of dark magic.  
  
He had managed to block out the other pairs bickering, it was getting annoying now and he had learnt to just walk away. Apparently, they were school enemies and their families had never got along so they were fighting like husband and wife.  
  
Occasionally, he would hear snatches of their conversation, which were usually cries of indignation from Ron and cold remarks from Malfoy.  
  
Finally they came to a decision,  
  
"Harry's up there," Malfoy informed him, jerking a thumb towards the dark portrait, Mark just raised an eyebrow, questioning his sanity. Draco just pushed past him and touched the serpent locket delicately - the picture slide back soundlessly to reveal a steep set of stairs.  
  
"Cold feet Weasley?" he spat, somehow able to look down at the red head even though Ron was taller. Ron gritted his teeth as Mark dragged him up the stairs and tossing Draco his wand.  
  
~*~  
  
Harry stirred but didn't open his eyes. Someone was calling his name. It was probably Aunt Petunia, yeah; Aunt Petunia telling him it was time for his breakfast and there was Dudley trundling past - he could feel the vibrations. In fact Dudley must have put on weight because the vibrations were shaking him.  
  
"Harry!"  
  
"Coming Aunt Petunia!"  
  
Silence and the shaking stopped. Then an awfully familiar voice said,  
  
"He's cracked, told you! Mad!"  
  
Where was that voice from? He was starting to get his vision back - it was a small wonder his contacts hadn't broken - even so all he could see for a moment was a blur of blonde and a separate blur of red.  
  
"Ron?" he croaked, blinked back whatever was crusting his eyes together, "Malfoy?"  
  
A smirk and a genuine grin floated int view - things hadn't changed then,  
  
"Is he always this cranky in the mornings?"  
  
"Shut up convict!"  
  
Ah, Mark. How could he even forget?  
  
Harry managed to sit up and look around through his foggy vision,  
  
"Hey, Mark,"  
  
Mark grinned and helped Harry to his feet. Harry suddenly remembered, well Mark reminded him, that his wrist was broken but as Ron passed him his wand he healed it himself. He had seen Ron's healing skills, didn't trust Malfoy and Mark didn't pass his healing exam until his fifth attempt. Not that he didn't appreciate being rescued.  
  
"Weren't you supposed to be the one rescuing Potter?"  
  
"Ginny!"  
  
~*~  
  
Lucius didn't get another word out of Ginny though. In fact, he didn't get chance to say another word anyway. Ginny had realised long before that there was more reason behind Maria hiding than cowardice so kept as quiet as possible and didn't look anywhere except Lucius' eyes. She was slightly worried about how dilated his pupils were at the moment.  
  
Ginny scrunched her eyes to try and block out the image of his face.  
  
It all happened so quickly that Ginny didn't see it - only when she opened her eyes, her captor's body sprawled ungracefully on the floor. Ginny's mouth was open. She hadn't seen anything or heard anything except his body falling to the floor. Maria kicked his unconscious body and wiped the freshly bleeding gash on her cheek, she looked up and noticed Ginny's face. Maria grinned,  
  
"C'mon then, Ginny"  
  
Ginny stood up slowly, all the energy leaving her body suddenly even though Maria had healed her ankle. The blood in her head was pounding and she suddenly felt faint. Very faint now she thought about it. Swaying for a second she felt easy more sick so she decided to sit back down.  
  
"Ginny?"  
  
"Be right there,"  
  
She heard Maria's questions in the hazy distance so decided to stay awake though it was sapping most of her strength. All she wanted to do was so to sleep but that Mary person's questions were so persistent that it wasn't worth it if it meant more of them.  
  
There was a dull thud - Maria had kicked Lucius in the shins - and the door banged open once more. Great, she thought, just what she needed now. Maria's questions were gone - maybe she was asleep? Though she didn't realise it, she grinned lopsidedly, all she thought was: sleep was good.  
  
~*~  
  
They slowed down as they came closer to where Draco said the dudgeon was. Both Harry and Mark had no inclination to walk into another trap like the last one especially as both those situations involved a Malfoy. Harry was fighting off the urge to sleep again - that bruise around his eye was blurring his vision and pounding in his ear.  
  
Then the path started sloping down and a soon appeared ahead which ajar. Draco and Mark hung back but Harry moved on just as fast not even realising that he was practically running. The door gradually grew and a minute later he was standing in front of it.  
  
He clutched his wand and opened the door with the other hand. It creaked wide open slowly revealing the people in the cell.  
  
The first thing he saw was Lucius Malfoy slumped all over the floor sporting a large black eye that was steadily turning darker. Behind him Draco snorted. Maria was fussing over someone in a chair uncharacteristically and it took Harry a moment to realise who exactly it was (there was a lot of mud in their hair):  
  
"Ginny!" 


	18. Which Malfoy?

Disclaimer: Do I really have to go through this with you? Again? Ok, ok, Harry Potter is not mine. If it were I would not be slaving away at the hellhole- aka my school. *Deep Breath* Did I go over the top there?  
  
Note - Okay, I said a maximum of 15 chapters but that seems to have RIGHT out of the window hasn't it. Right, have you got a hat I can borrow? I need to eat it. About the content of this particular chapter, remember: you love me. I was person who brought you all of the chapters. You have been warned. Also - by rule I always have an epilogue in, ok?  
  
Chapter 17:  
  
"Ginny!" he gasped finally finding his voice out of nowhere - before his mouth had felt like he had swallowed sawdust. Maria stood back up slowly and wiped all the dirt and dried up blood out of her eyes,  
  
"She's out cold," Maria stated, brushing her hands on her jacket and pulling all the hair off her face, "Try and wake her if you want,"  
  
Harry nodded, barely absorbing this information as he noticed with some disappointment that Ginny didn't even responded to her name. He heard rather than felt Maria step past him and by the noises behind him, dragged Mark and Draco out with her.  
  
After the past five minutes of so much movement and noise, this sudden quietness was quite disturbing to his ears. There was nothing to hear expect the rattle of the glass in the wind and the gentle sigh's Ginny was making in her sleep. If loud music were blaring out of every corner it wouldn't be as deafening as this was being right now.  
  
Harry was just glad he had his protective jacket on - it was keeping him warm let alone safe from any stray charms in this freezing prison. It had protected Mark from Draco (he was being surprisingly pleasant to Malfoy considering he attempted to kill him) so now Harry was hoping it would do the same for him.  
  
The body of Lucius Malfoy still remained motionless on the floor.  
  
He couldn't just stand there; he became painfully aware of Maria and Mark watching him. He heard them having a heated though quiet argument a second ago, Draco was probably peeping through while they quarrelled. Sure enough, when he glanced back, Draco's smirking face was there before Maria (or Mark) dragged it back.  
  
Suddenly losing his nerve, he forced his feet to walk over to Ginny hoping that she was all right. He didn't know what he'd do if she was hurt after all they had been through.  
  
"Ginny?" he whispered, kneeling on the wet floor in front of her slowly, "Ginny are you awake? Ginny?"  
  
She didn't move and he started to panic slightly. Getting higher on his knees to get a better look at her, he slipped his hand behind her ear to support her head and slapped the side of her face gently,  
  
"C'mon, Gin," he urged, tilting his head to one side to get a better look at her, "Wake up!"  
  
At a complete loss at what to do, he leaned forward and brushed his lips on her dry ones. He smiled sadly and started to move away when she started to stir gently. He was by her side in a second,  
  
"Ginny?" he asked worriedly, realising for the first time that her hands were ice cold, "Can you hear me?"  
  
Ginny looked at him looking slightly dazed,  
  
"Hey Harry," she said hoarsely not quite getting the words out at first and looking pleasantly surprised as if he had just called around to her house unexpectedly, "What are you doing here?"  
  
Harry laughed out loud though he felt like crying.  
  
"Lets go back," he sighed after a moment of looking at, "C'mon,"  
  
He reached down and helped her to her feet - she woke out of her confused stupor in a second when she put weight on her foot. Still with a pained expression on her face, Harry set her down back on the spindly chair,  
  
"It's my ankle," she said a little unnecessarily as Harry bend down and set it on his bend knee, "It must have twisted or something,"  
  
Harry didn't bother to ask how she got this - he rolled up her torn trousers a little bit more to get a better look at it. He winced for her,  
  
"No wonder it hurt," he muttered, poking it softly with the end of his wand, Ginny swore in pain, "It's broken,"  
  
Muttering a few well-chosen words, he conjured a splint out of thin air and wrapped it around her swollen ankle then helped her to her feet again. She said she could walk but Harry couldn't help but unzip his jacket and drape it around her shoulders - she was still as cold as death.  
  
"Where's Malfoy?" she asked suddenly as Harry latched an arm under hers.  
  
"Which one?"  
  
If this surprised Ginny, she didn't say anything,  
  
"Lucius,"  
  
On there way through the door, Harry kicked Lucius' shins and Ginny smiled and mentioned something about if she could walk properly, she would do it. It would have been quicker for Harry to carry Ginny but she refused to let him do it - he didn't push it. He always seemed to find her in a position where he had to help her.  
  
Finding he couldn't open the now heavy, closed door with one hand, Ginny had to hobble on one leg for a moment. Harry was concentrating so much on wrenching the rusty door open he didn't hear the scuffling on the floor.  
  
"Harry!"  
  
He turned around only to find a flash of green light blinding him and Ginny falling to the floor.  
  
~*~ 


	19. Epilouge Filling in the Gaps

Disclaimer: Not mine, not yours.  
  
Note: Sorry about the wait again - I am awful. I offer no excuse except my own inability to let go of a fic I start however long ago. I might not seem that long to you but this is the only ending I was satisfied with - so I present Epilogue #13:  
  
Epilogue  
  
He had been here before. He had felt these emotions before - only this time they were much more awful. Worry, grieve, anger, sorrow and some others he couldn't name but were just as bad. It seemed like yesterday that himself and Maria were waiting for news about Mark after the New Years Eve 'Party'. Harry had felt as if it couldn't be any worse back then - clearly he was wrong.  
  
A calm man would sit twiddling his thumbs (like he had done when he was waiting for Mark) but Harry was anything but calm at that moment. Dumbledore and Hermione were yet to return though Hermione talked to Ron via Floo powder only to tell them that they were safe - Ron was forced not to say anything about Ginny because of the head-healer breathing down his neck.  
  
So he was being sheepishly comforted by Mark (Maria had disappeared and Harry couldn't sit still), who, through Ron's tears, managed to get the message that he had only just made it up to his sister and now this had happened. Mark, like Maria before him, had drunk half his body weight in tea and coffee and defended Ron from a barrage of nurses and healers wafting chocolate before them.  
  
Harry on the other hand was all twitches and nervousness but was comforted with one thought - she was alive. Just barely but alive all the same. They all had plenty of theories about how exactly she had survived - Lucius was weak, it had only just caught her and she was wearing that jacket were some of them. And, as Draco had mentioned slyly before he vanished, Harry wanted her alive.  
  
The hospital hadn't change - Harry could have been gone for a year, an hour or a week after he left with Mark and it would have been the same. True - it was only eight in the morning and there weren't as many people this time but the floor was still squeaky and the healers had this amazing ability to lie about how long it would take them to see her.  
  
None of them looked like they had crawled out of bed like they had last time and there weren't as many workers around because there wasn't a lot of people hurt. Last time it was Deatheater but not this time - there was Lucius but no one was particularly cared if he pulled through or not. Harry had a horrible feeling that he would somehow.  
  
All three of them had sat in silence ever since Maria disappeared except for Mark asking every two minutes if either of them wanted a drink. It was the same reply every time - no. Maria was the only one that could tease any conversation out of any of them at this time. And now she had vanished. So had Draco but he only had three days head start at the most -  
  
"I'm going to find Maria," Mark muttered suddenly, when Ron looked a little better, "She's taking a very long time with those drinks,"  
  
Harry smiled wearily despite himself and to the side of him, Ron grinned weakly with his head leaning against the wall while he sat down. Feeling suddenly tired, and guilty not being a friend, Harry collapsed on the lumpy seats next to Ron.  
  
"Sorry," he whispered after a moment and for a second he thought Ron hadn't heard because there was no reaction at all. He just blinked slowly and removed his head from the crème walls,  
  
"Sorry?" he questioned a little sharply, "What about?"  
  
Harry made a vague hand gesture in front of him,  
  
"Stuff. Everything."  
  
Ron copied the gesture and looked enquiringly at him. Harry sighed.  
  
"Getting you all in to this. Getting you hurt," he explained hoarsely, running his dirty fingers through his hair again, "Getting Ginny hurt," he added miserably.  
  
Ron sat silently for a minute,  
  
"It's okay," he said tragically though grinning, and sighing like it was a huge deal, "I was seriously bored anyway and," he smiled secretly, "Ginny's going to be fine. I'll let you off again Harry Potter,"  
  
A Healer passing looked up suddenly from a trolley and slowed down; taking as long as possible to walk and it wasn't until Harry caught her eyes did she remember herself. Either that or the door banged open announcing the presence of not the most liked person in the area,  
  
"Potter!" somebody hissed with suppressed anger, "You seem to like getting me up early don't you,"  
  
Even Ron was on his feet now. Harry was dreading this meeting - the meeting with his boss - and remained silent as he advanced on him. Adam Smith this time didn't look like he'd crawled out of bed but looked like he'd seen better days. Or better mornings. He pointed a finger in-between Harry's eyes,  
  
"Explain," he ordered, "and it better be a damned good reason to get me up on the one morning I get to sleep a little later,"  
  
"But its well past eight -" Ron piped up, obviously not used to Smith who turned on Ron as he spoke,  
  
"And who are you?"  
  
Harry coughed nervously and moved in-between them smiling brightly,  
  
"I can explain sir-"  
  
A different voice interrupted all of them from the doorway,  
  
"No need Mr. Potter, I'll save you the trouble - I believe Miss Weasley has recovered enough for visitors,"  
  
Harry didn't hear much else after he said that Ginny was recovered. He just smiled as he and Ron rushed past Professor Dumbledore and a smiling Adam Smith.  
  
~*~  
  
Ron, Hermione and Harry were all crowed around Ginny's bed - Harry and Hermione on the left and Ron sitting down on the chair holding his sister's hand, red-eyed. Hermione was the better out of all of them (she had almost slept through the whole thing) and told Harry how she had sent Malfoy's wand to them. She wasn't at all surprised that Ron had almost blown their cover.  
  
Harry had managed to get some sleep earlier on but wasn't as dead on his feet like he was with Mark - and like Ron was now. Mark quietly came into the empty ward and stood next to Harry - still minus Maria.  
  
"Smith says congratulations," he whispered, grinning softly, "They've been wanting an excuse to get Malfoy for years,"  
  
"Which one?" Hermione muttered, walking round to Ron, who had fallen asleep, and stroked the hair out of his sleeping eyes, "You aren't going to take Draco in - I know he's not the nicest person but he did help you,"  
  
A stifled cough came from one of the curtained cubicles at the end of the ward. Mark frowned and walked down to it - they had been told the place was empty. Neither Hermione nor Harry were particularly bothered and were too worried about Ginny. Harry shuddered when he looked at her.  
  
She was so pale in the weak morning light - the few freckles she had stood out from her skin and her red hair seemed even brighter against the sheets. The nurses said she had a mild case of hypothermia (though that had been dealt with almost at once, she was still unnaturally cold) and some concussion from being thrown across the room. Her hair around her shoulders and neck like a scarf and one of her hands was by her side while the other remained under the cover.  
  
Harry sighed again and rubbed his eyes to try and disguise the tear that was threatening to spill down his face. Luckily, Ron woke up with start, distracting Hermione and almost knocking her over the table with some plants on.  
  
"Hey watch it," she grumbled though smiling, and taking his hand to help her up.  
  
Ron smiled jadedly and apologized croakily letting Hermione sit down now. They seemed in danger of slipping into silence again but the dirty white curtains around Ginny's cubicle were pulled roughly open and Maria walked in looking between guilt and embarrassment. She scuttled over to Hermione and perched on the side of her chair not looking at anyone.  
  
It was explained when Mark pushed in a dishevelled Draco Malfoy in next looking extremely at ease compared to Maria. Mark stood the other side Harry - furthest away from Draco who was clearly still not his favourite person in the world.  
  
"Aren't you supposed to be running?" Ron asked with barely traceable civility. Draco ran his fingers through his hair to keep it out of his eyes,  
  
"What the point of running when," he looked at Maria who, unlike most people Harry knew, glared right back at him, "no one is chasing you,"  
  
Mark coughed as if stopping himself from doing, or saying, something else. Harry elbowed him,  
  
"Whatever happened just forget it," he whispered, taking advantage of Maria not listening while Hermione was talking to her, "It was three people maximum in here and if the nurse hears us or Ginny wakes up-"  
  
"Too late," Malfoy interrupted from his other side.  
  
On the bed, Ginny's eyes fluttered open slowly.  
  
~*~  
  
This is the more or less the end. This is the end of this chapter in Harry's life - but a new chapter in both his and Ginny's life, together. As soon as her eyes opened, as soon as they left the hospital ward, as soon as Harry felt the laughter of friends again it started.  
  
Hermione insisted that she knew it all along - she knew how it would end. She even doubted that there was even a time when it didn't exist. The reader also may find it interesting that Hermione Granger no more - the previous information was given to Ginny after one-too-many glasses of wine on the night of her hen party. Hermione Weasley now regrets having a hangover on morning of her marriage to Ron.  
  
She and Ron have now moved out of London completely (they hadn't moved before in case Harry came back - turned out that was right) and now living in a house in Staffordshire. She is now the Deputy Head of Hogwarts School of Witchcraft and Wizardry and is looking for a Defence Against the Dark Arts teacher if you, or any one you know, is interested.  
  
Mark, Maria and Harry are all still in the Aura department (for legal reasons, there exact department name cannot be disclosed) and although all have been promoted, Maria still remains the superior.  
  
Draco Malfoy has inherited the Malfoy Manor in Wiltshire along with all other Malfoy properties/land, including the certain lair in Yorkshire, and has moved in. He also allowed Ministry officials in to 'de-evil' several areas of the place to use as evidence against his father. Maria Edwards was a leader officer in these efforts. Of course, she was especially asked for and volunteered her and her team right away.  
  
Recently, he had sold the land in Yorkshire to the Department of Magical Games and Pastimes, which is now building a Quiddich training school.  
  
Lucius Malfoy now has his sons' cell in Nyper's Peak. Draco had to pay a warden more then three galleons to tell his father what he had done to other properties that they had previously owned. He still retains extensive land and houses outside of the Manor and would offer them to friends if they all weren't in prison for life.  
  
Draco's mother, died (investigation is no underway to find out exactly how she tripped down the stairs) a few years ago and Lucius never told his son where the grave was. Draco, however, is adamant he cared for his mother little more than he cared for his father.  
  
It turned out that even though she didn't hurt her son, she never looked after or protect him.  
  
Ginny has reclaimed her job as a journalist for the Daily Prophet and now has her own column on page two - if any on you are interested.  
  
There was however, a little trouble explaining to her brothers that she was alive. Fred and George vowed to play pranks on her every 12th March when she was supposed to have died. Ginny wasn't phased at all, in fact she was glad that all of her brothers (except Percy) had joined in this deal - she took it as a sign they had forgiven her. She did, though, regret it when the twelve of March came around.  
  
It seemed two years was a lot for Ginny to miss out - Bill had finally married and, despite the various bets and wagers going on through the family and close friends, he had done it with long hair. Harry, far from his expectations and wishes of never being contacted by any of the Dursleys ever again, received a wedding notification (not invitation) from Dudley clearly fishing for gifts.  
  
The Twins offered some new and improved Ton-Ton Toffees when the tongue shrunk in a couple of minutes They spent the next week wondering and laughing at how the hell would marry Dudley and how he would treat the unmark toffees in equal turns.  
  
As I said before, this is pretty much the end of the story - or at least this part of it in Harry, Ginny and everyone else life. I suppose though, as always, the readers have questions. Questions that should be answered. But, unfortunately, from here on in, these answers tend to be long and very tedious.  
  
While Adam Smith is left to wonder how exactly no one recognised James Redwood as Harry Potter after all the clues that Harry didn't manage to cover, the reader probably cares more about how Harry's character changed. How Ginny self-confidence grew. These changes, however, are not so much tedious, just subtle and hard to measure. There's just no simple answer.  
  
There is never a simple answer.  
  
If there was to be an answer, it would as surprising as the contents of the Malfoy Manor before the 'de-evil'- ing. Which, for all those not in the 'loop', gave Lucius Malfoy eight life sentences before any other evidence and witnesses were brought up.  
  
But, it would be tiresome to go through all the many changes of all of their extremely different lives. Instead, the reader will have to content themselves with one last scene almost a year and a half after Ginny's eyes opened in the dingy, Ministry cubical.  
  
~*~  
  
The sound of splashing water filled the summer air - lots of bottles of cooled Butterbeer (and regular beer) were festooned in various magical cool boxes. No one was drinking them - not at the moment anyway. All the people here were sleeping, reading or swimming in the lake.  
  
Bees flitted from flower to flower making anyone who looked at them feel sick with them being so hot. For once, the summer was actually a summer. The weather forecast in the background on the radio told them to expect clear skies and hot temperatures for the rest of the week. Anyone looking up at the cloudless skies and drinking all the water they could get their hands on could have told you that.  
  
Maria was with Draco and they had disappeared somewhere (none of them thought it wise to disturb them), Mark was sleeping on a rug, Hermione was resting her head on Ron's chest and Ron was reading some book on Quiddich. Everyone was enjoying himself or herself.  
  
Harry was no exception. Neither was Ginny.  
  
Ginny was sitting on the bank, overlooking the lake, and fiddling idly with a flower while staring into space with a little smile on her face. Harry grinned to himself as he kept himself afloat in the current trying to sweep him away.  
  
It was so hot that more than one person (Ron and Mark to be exact) had jumped straight into the water fully clothed and ten minutes after coming still complaining it was too hot. It was the last of the few weeks Harry got off work and still he was smiling.  
  
There was everything in the world to smile about.  
  
Ginny started to pick each petal off the flower slowly before throwing them into the gentle breeze that had appeared muttering something under her breath.  
  
Someone appeared by his side in the water and woke him out of a daydream,  
  
"And just what do you think you're doing in my lake Potter?"  
  
Harry laughed and pushed a grinning Draco Malfoy under the water,  
  
"The only reason its yours," he said, tearing his eyes away from Ginny, "is because no one can be arsed to chase you. Not because of your charm and money. Or the fact Maria more than likes you far more than the rest of us"  
  
Draco snorted and muttered something about that making sense. Harry didn't say anything and instead chose to listen to the water in the nearby stream flow. A frog croaked somewhere in the distance,  
  
"I have to say your girlfriend looks terribly good in a swimsuit, Potter," he commented glancing at Ginny when Harry didn't respond. This time Harry merely grinned and only agreed in his head but wouldn't give his friend the satisfaction. Malfoy was a little put out for some reason,  
  
"This is the part where you're supposed to say the same about mine,"  
  
Harry looked up at Maria who was talking with Ginny as they walked down to the little jetty to get in the water. This had to be a trap - why would Malfoy ask him how is girlfriend looked unless he wanted an excuse to beat him up?  
  
"Er, your girlfriend looks nice,"  
  
Draco smirked irritatingly and began to swim off to the jetty after calling out,  
  
"See, it's easy when you try!"  
  
Harry sighed and swam over to Ginny, who, unlike Maria who was completely submerged thanks to her boyfriend, was sitting down so only up to her knees were in the water.  
  
He pulled himself out of the water and sat next to her. Seemingly not bothered by the fact he was utterly and completely drenched, she found his hand and squeezed it for no reason and smiled at him.  
  
This was surreal - he had loved people, he did love people, but he had never been in love with a person.  
  
He just couldn't explain it.  
  
He couldn't think of anything to say - he was completely lost for words - but neither of them was particularly bothered. On his part, her eyes were saying more than he could ever explain or say in return.  
  
She was so beautiful right then - he would never forget it. Whatever possessed him right then he couldn't explain, but he leaned forward, regardless that they were surrounded by people, and kissed the woman he loved.  
  
They had kissed before, they would kiss again but the memory of this day would always start with thoughts of this kiss. He had opened up to her in a way he had opened up to no one before. And she understood him. She loved him.  
  
She loved him back.  
  
His hand automatically went up to her face and stroked his thumb across her face slowly.  
  
"The water's lovely," he said finally, breaking away from her, letting his hand linger for a second longer and looking over where Maria and Draco where splashing each other like two year olds, "You should come in,"  
  
"Nah," she replied, kicking her legs and making ripples across the water, "I like it here better,"  
  
The End  
  
Authors Note:  
  
*Gasp* This time it is the end. I mean it. You wanted happy - this is so happy to can almost can't breathe because of all de goddamn fluff.  
  
Do you have any idea how strange this is to me? The only other fic I've finished is this really sad, sad, sad one that didn't end at all well for the main character. Which was Ginny.  
  
I finished it at like two in the morning on the computer in my bedroom and had to wait five and a half hours to post it. I was going crazy but it gave me time to make it even better. This is on the eighth page so is this long enough? No? TOO BAD!  
  
REVIEW PLEASE.  
  
Any question leave in your review and I will answer them in an after word if requested. 


	20. This is Goodbye

I'm sorry - I did try it without a disclaimer but it didn't look right. Sigh.  
  
Disclaimer - Harry Potter belongs to J.K Rowling. Damnit.  
  
Final Note and Answers.  
  
First of all I would like to say thank you to all my reviewers - all of you have honestly kept me going. I know it sounds all corny, and it is over used, but I was so close to removing it at one point because of the crap- ness (try and guess what chapter that is.) of the whole darn thing.  
  
But you guys stayed. I've never had so many reviews in all my life.  
  
One or two of you asked about this and I'm sorry there wasn't a proposal of any kind between any of the couples - I did debate having the last scene at Ron and Hermione's wedding but that turned out awful. If you thought the last one was bad, this one stank. So I settled for the happy summer day thing - the summer is affecting me for once - because it had been a while since I had portrayed them happy and more or less carefree.  
  
Or at least, a time when I had described and written it properly. You must remember I started the fic wheat seemed like years ago and it was only my second fic so I was a little sketchy on details and thought no further than the next sentence.  
  
Sequel?  
  
Surprisingly, at least for me, people have wondered about sequels.  
  
I don't really know the best way to put this - I would love to do a sequel, seriously. But it was a wonder this was completed with a half decent plot. I would hate to inflict a half-arsed attempt to continue this little story of mine on you. I am not, however, ruling it out completely.  
  
I might wait until I get a little more experience of writing in the romance area - this was my first romance that ended with all the main characters still alive so that might explain a couple of things. If there was going to be any form of sequel, it wouldn't be for a while - I've got pretty important exams coming up (yeah, for the next five years) so updates may be a rare event. I'm not ruling it out completely and if there was one, I would post a note up on here. Also, I need to find another good plot. This was one serious fluke of luck.  
  
So I'm going to take this opportunity to thank some people - I love all of you guys but a couple of people stood out and spring to mind straight away.  
  
Silver Witch - You have been there almost from the very start of the fic, which was ALONG time ago. Moreover, you encouraged me. Also, I love reading your fics, which are very funny at times. Something I envy greatly - I've been told I make people cry (other fic - ok, it made one person sad) but I can never create laughter. That is some thing to be seriously proud of. ^Round of applause please^ P.S. Your last review was weird - explain please.  
  
Gingerred - A friend of mine that has reviewed for a while and told me not to worry when I couldn't write the final bit.  
  
RachelFan5000 - Thank you so much for beta reading a couple of chapters and putting up with my worthless/inane/stupid thoughts on MSN messaging.  
  
Annison Crane - Another good person who has reviewed more or less from the start - thanks for the reviews because they helped me sort out their pasts and the plots properly. Also - you told me who Evanesance were and I told my friends and forced her to listen to it. We are now the biggest fans.  
  
Strawberriesdelighte - I've mentioned you especially because I think you really wanted to be a beta. Sorry - I only really bounce ideas off people who are on MSN messaging and you were never only. Sorry again.  
  
Punkin - See? I am actually capable of giving shout outs on the first go. Thank you so much for helping me through when I was seriously in need of inspirations - it was chapter 13 and 14 which were really one of the major turning points when the whole fic began to take shape. THANK YOU!!!!  
  
Paffy - A fellow 'Britfic' author, and, although I hardy ever speak or review your stuff, I do like your fics.  
  
Neurotic-sin (formally know as Arwen) - hey girl! Thanks a lot for, just, well, being there. *grin* And, you always managed to make me hyper when I read your reviews - an accomplishment as I check my e-mail and fan fiction URL at about three in the morning.  
  
All of the previous people are people that stood out - which was really hard because every single one of my reviewers I love. Many of the same things could be said about a load more people.  
  
I really wish I could thank you all personally but I don't think I could do you all credit.  
  
All I hope is that you enjoyed my fic half as much as I enjoyed reading all your comments (good and bad) and tips that helped me finally finish my first full-length fic.  
  
Lots of love,  
  
Opal Star 


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